iPhone rumor season is in full bloom and there’s a lot of crazy speculation going on out there. We’ve weeded through all the iPhone 5 rumors and picked nine that are most likely to be true, though it’s important to remember that until Apple officially announces something it’s all speculation:

1. 4″ Display – A larger screened iPhone has been rumored for a long time, but now Reuters, WSJ, and Bloomberg have all piled in with reports that appear to confirm the 4″ display is a reality.
2. Redesigned Case – To accommodate a larger screen the iPhone enclosure is bound to get a redesign. Nobody knows what it will look like or if it will be made of glass, aluminum, liquid metal, or a combination of all three, but with longstanding rumors that Steve Jobs worked on the design before he passed away, you can rest assured it will be beautiful.
3. 4G LTE – True mobile broadband is bound for the iPhone according to a handful of rumors, and with the 3rd gen iPad receiving the 4G treatment it’s a pretty safe bet the iPhone will follow suit.
4. 10 Megapixel Camera – The smartphone is killing the point-and-shoot camera market, and the next iPhone is probably going to include a camera so good that it will drive a final nail into the consumer digital camera coffin. Why 10MP? The iPhone 4S has an 8MP camera, so it’s a logical step.
5. A5X CPU & Quad Core Graphics – It’s very likely Apple will borrow the iPad 3 A5X CPU with it’s quad-core GPU and jam all of its power right into the next iPhone. Apple regularly shares core hardware components between iOS devices, so this isn’t particularly outlandish.
6. 1GB RAM – If they borrow the A5X from the iPad 3, it’s very likely the next iPhone will have 1GB of RAM like the iPad too. Apple generally finds specs meaningless, but geeks love this stuff, and 1GB of RAM means faster apps, improved multitasking, and an all-around boost.
7. iOS 6 – Not much is known about iOS 6, but everyone is expecting a big preview at WWDC in just a few weeks. Rumored features include all new Maps app with advanced abilities like turn-by-turn directions, further iCloud integration, third party widgets for Notification Center, third party Siri support, and much more.
8. “The new iPhone” – Taking another page from the book of iPad, the next iPhone probably won’t be called iPhone 5 at all, it’ll be named simply “The new iPhone”. People will still call it the wrong name anyway though.
9. September or October Release Date – The release timeline for new iPhones appears to have shifted from earlier in the year to fall, assuming the next iPhone is released on the same schedule as iPhone 4S was that is. Expect a launch and release sometime in September or October of this year.

Those are looking like the most likely features and specs of the next iPhone, but there are also a few other vague possibilities. There is really nothing to support these rumors except analyst claims or web conjecture, so we’ll file these safely under “wishful thinking” while we all cross our fingers hoping they end up true.

• 32GB Base Model – My iPhone fills up much faster than my iPad, it stores tons of photos and tons of music, and frankly 16GB is just too small to be standard anymore. 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB storage options would be fantastic.
• Magsafe Dock Connector – MagSafe power adapters are one of the greatest little Apple inventions, it would be a huge improvement to bring to the iPhone and iOS lineup, so let’s hope it happens
• T-Mobile – Plenty of T-Mobile customers are using unlocked devices on their network anyway, so hopefully Apple and TMO USA can finally work out a deal to bring the iPhone to their network.
• China Mobile – The largest cellular carrier in the world with 655 million subscribers, China Mobile has a paying customer base that is two times the entire population of the USA. If Apple wants to continue it’s explosive growth in China, landing a deal with CHL is vital, and this could be the year, and the device, to finally do it.

What do you think the next iPhone will have? What should it have? Let us know your thoughts and speculate away.

A new report from Bloomberg appears to confirm rumors that the next iPhone will have a larger display. Although Bloomberg doesn’t mention a specific screen size, the earlier reports from Wall Street Journal and Reuters claim it will measure 4″ diagonally.

According to Bloomberg, the late Steve Jobs worked closely on the redesigned iPhone project before his death last year, reiterating rumors that surfaced last October that the so-called iPhone 5 was his last big project.

The report goes on to speculate the next iPhone will also include 4G LTE internet access, a longstanding rumor that gained significant strength after Apple released the 4G LTE equipped 3rd generation iPad.

No release date is known for the next iPhone, though most assumptions point to a release on the same Fall schedule set last year by the iPhone 4S, suggesting an announcement sometime around September or October.

The next generation iPhone will feature a 4″ display, according to two separate reports from Reuters and Wall Street Journal.

The dual reports appear to confirm long existing speculation that Apple would increase the size of the new iPhone screens from the current 3.5″ display to a larger 4″ display. Larger displays are increasingly common in the smartphone world, and both Reuters and WSJ cite competition from Android phones as part of the motivation to increase the screen size.

Other details are scant and the source of the information is the routinely vague “people familiar with the situation”, but WSJ and Reuters have a history of providing accurate Apple rumors and leaks in the past.

Assuming existing iPhone 5 rumors pan out, the next-gen phone could potentially include the following features:

• 4″ Display at similar screen resolution to existing iPhone models
• 4G LTE connectivity
• A5X CPU borrowed from the iPad 3
• 10 megapixel or higher camera
• All new redesigned enclosure
• Ships with iOS 6

The next iPhone is expected to launch later this year, likely around September or October.

Apple will release a new thinner MacBook Pro next month at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), according to a report from Bloomberg.

With a thinner design, the new MacBook Pro is expected to feature “high-definition screens like those on the iPhone and iPad” commonly referred to as a Retina display, and also include SSD storage which will extend battery life and increase performance. The new laptops are said to run on Intels newest Ivy Bridge processors, though precise clock speeds are currently unknown, and there is no word on bundled graphics card capabilities.

Earlier today, 9to5mac had reported on some information they had received regarding the new MacBook Pro model, and the Bloomberg report seems to confirm much of it. 9to5mac suggested the new MacBook Pro won’t have a tapered enclosure like the MacBook Air, and instead would resemble a thinner version of the square unibody enclosure that already exists but without a SuperDrive.

Rumors of retina Macs have swirled for quite some time, and evidence has been piling up since early OS X Lion developer previews were released. HIDPI mode is currently buried in OS X and can be enabled manually, though there is no official Apple screen capable of utilizing the high resolution.

WWDC 2012 is scheduled to run from June 11 to June 15. Other than an all new MacBook Pro, the event is expected to reveal iOS 6 beta for the first time, in addition to providing a GM build of OS X Mountain Lion, the latter of which is set to be released this summer.

The next iPhone will feature a significantly larger 4.6″ display, according to a report from Reuters.

The brief report cites an unspecified source who claims that Apple has already placed orders for the larger screen with component suppliers. Display suppliers for the iPhone could be LG and Samsung, with Samsung currently producing 4.6″ displays for their own Galaxy SII Android phone, shown alongside an iPhone 4S above.

If true, the next iPhone screen would be over an inch larger than the current iPhone display, which is measured at 3.5″ diagonally. A larger screen has long been anticipated for the next generation iPhone release, though most speculation focuses on a 4″ display, marking this as the first rumor of a 4.6″ display.

Virtually nothing is known about the next iPhone, though it is expected to follow the release schedule set by the iPhone 4S, which debuted in early October of last year.

The next iPad may be released to the public on Friday, March 16, just 9 days after the products launch. It remains unclear whether pre-orders will be possible before then.

This information comes to us from 9to5mac, who cites a reliable source within Apple Stores who noted that significant preparations are being made for an event on that date. Additionally, two new Apple Stores are expected to open ahead of schedule on the same Friday, providing further evidence of a meaningful Apple event occurring that day.

iPad 3 is anticipated to have a high resolution retina display, much faster processors, improved graphics capabilities, and 4G LTE connectivity. Pricing should be the same as existing iPad models, starting at $499 and going up incrementally from there.

There is some question regarding the actual name of the device, with some rumors surfacing yesterday that the next generation iPad may in fact be called “iPad HD” rather than “iPad 3″, though the naming convention is largely irrelevant beyond marketing of the device and is not expected to have any impact on the feature set.

Stay tuned, we’ll know more tomorrow.

The iPad 3 will be priced the same as existing iPad 2 models, even though it is expected to have a significantly improved Retina display, a more powerful processor and graphics capabilities, and 4G LTE connectivity. This unsurprising report comes from 9to5mac, who cites a traditionally reliable source who even provided model numbers of the next-generation iPad. This means pricing for iPad 3 will be as follows:

Wi-Fi Models

• 16GB – $499
• 32GB – $599
• 64GB – $699

Cellular 3G / 4G LTE (?) Models

• 16GB – $629
• 32GB – $729
• 64GB – $829

9to5mac also mentions that some countries with a stronger currency will actually see prices for the iPad 3 go down slightly, though those countries and the final sale prices are not yet known.

While Apple rarely increases the price of products, there was a brief rumor passed around that pricing for the next gen iPad would be slightly higher to accommodate for increased production costs. That sounded unlikely to begin with, and now it appears even less likely.

The model numbers for iPad 3 are alleged to be as follows:

MC705LL/A – J1 GOOD A-USA
MC706LL/A – J1 BETTER A-USA
MC707LL/A – J1 BEST A-USA

MD328LL/A – J1 GOOD B- USA
MD329LL/A – J1 BETTER B-USA
MD330LL/A – J1 BEST-B-USA

MD366LL/A – J2A GOOD A-USA
MD367LL/A – J2A BETTER A-USA
MD368LL/A – J2A BEST A-USA

MD369LL/A – J2A GOOD B-USA
MD370LL/A – J2A BETTER B-USA
MD371LL/A – J2A BEST B-USA

J1 is said to be Wi-Fi and J2 are said to be cellular connected models. Presumably there are two of each to account for the iPad being available in both black and white colors.

iPad 3 will be launched on March 7 and is expected to ship soon after.

iOS 6 running on an iPad is beginning to make appearances in web logs, indicating that Apple is working on a future release of their mobile operating system. Virtually nothing is known about iOS 6 at this time, but it should come as no surprise that Apple is working on versions of iOS beyond the current iOS 5.1 beta.

The iOS 6 server log entries were first noticed by ArsTechnica, who narrowed down the origin of the iOS 6 user agents to Cupertino, California, the home of Apple Inc. Similar finds have become a somewhat reliable method of discovering future Apple OS releases prior to announcement, as demonstrated by with OS X 10.8 last October and OS X 10.7 a full year before its debut. This doesn’t indicate that iOS 6 will be released anytime soon however, though speculation suggests we could see an iOS 6 beta as soon as WWDC 2012.

Of course, it’s always possible that Apple will surprise everyone and skip iOS 5.1 completely in favor of iOS 6, but that seems unlikely given the current version of iOS is 5.0.1. The public version of iOS 5.1 is widely believed to debut as a free update alongside the launch of iPad 3 next week on March 7.

It is worth pointing out that spoofing user agents is ridiculously easy. For example, the string below will spoof a similar iOS 6 and iPad user agent to the target server of osxdaily.com, change the URL at the end to something else if you wish to fool others.

curl -A "Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 6_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/535.8 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.3.5 Mobile/8J2 Safari/535.8" http://osxdaily.com

That wouldn’t change your geographical location though, so you may need to book a flight to Cupertino if you really want to trick someone.

It’s the rumor that just won’t die, Apple is said to be actively testing an iPad with a smaller 8″ screen, according to a new report from Wall Street Journal.

Officials at some of Apple’s suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has shown them screen designs for a new device with a screen size of around 8-inches, and said it is qualifying suppliers for it.

The smaller screened iPad is said to feature the same display resolution as the existing iPad 2 at 1024×768 pixels. The Wall Street Journal cautions that “Apple, which works with suppliers to test new designs all the time, could opt not to proceed with the device”, but suggests that Apple is continuously looking at the smaller iPads as a way to expand the product line in an increasingly competitive market.

Many competing Android tablets have opted for smaller displays, most to limited success, although the Kindle Fire has become quite popular since it’s launch late last year. Rumors of Apple working on smaller iPads, or “iPad Mini“, have existed for quite some time, with a recent report from DigiTimes stating such a device could ship in the fourth quarter of this year.

For the time being, the only new iPad you should expect is iPad 3, which is expected to be announced on March 7 with a retina display, 4G LTE, and a quad-core CPU.

The next iPad will feature high speed 4G LTE wireless capabilities and be available on the AT&T and Verizon networks, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. Citing several sources, WSJ says the following:

Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, according to people familiar with the matter, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up.

Apple Inc. appears to be planning to announce the latest version of its tablet computer in the first week of March, according to another person briefed on the matter.

Whether other carriers will also sell the device couldn’t be learned. Sprint Nextel Corp., T-Mobile USA and Apple declined to comment.

The iPad 3 is said to drop down to 3G and possibly even EDGE connectivity if 4G access points are not available. The remainder of the report is behind the WSJ paywall, but the important takeaway is the next generation iPad supporting 4G LTE. This is contrary to what many have believed (including us) given the existing battery issues with 4G connectivity, but this suggests that Apple has found a way to overcome the notorious battery drain issues of current generation 4G LTE cell phones.

While it’s unclear if the 4G iPad will also be offered on Sprint or T-Mobile, we have only a few short weeks until the expected announcement date of March 7 to find out.

Just a few days ago The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that iPad 3 will be released the first week of March, and now new claims have surfaced suggesting that the next iPad will be announced on Wednesday, March 7. Specifically, iMore says:

According to sources who have been reliable in the past, Apple currently plans to hold their iPad 3 announcement on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Along with the 2048×1536 Retina display, the iPad 3 will feature a quad-core Apple 6 system-on-a-chip, and possibly 4G LTE networking.

The date wouldn’t be too surprising considering March 7 is the only date vacant during the first week of March that is open on the Yerba Buena Center event calendar, and Apple has traditionally announced prior iPads at the YBCA in San Francisco. The rumored specs seem to add up to past expectations, although the 4G LTE capability is reasonably unlikely given Apple’s reluctance to adopt the battery hungry technology.

Earlier today, pictures claiming to be a partially assembled next-gen iPad showed up online at 9to5mac, and other than a few very minor differences they look practically identical to iPad 2.

Keeping the same enclosure could indicate that the next iPad may be labeled as an iPad 2S or iPad 2HD, similar to the recent iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S update, rather than calling the device “iPad 3″. Ultimately the naming of any Apple device is largely insignificant beyond speculation and Apple’s marketing efforts though, and whatever the next iPad is called it will surely be popular.

Update: The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the next iPad will have 4G LTE connectivity.

The entire MacBook Pro lineup will be redesigned “radically” this year to more closely resemble the MacBook Air, according to a new report from AppleInsider. Citing a source who says “they’re all going to look like MacBook Airs,” AppleInsider also suggests the MacBook Pro 15″ will likely be the first of the bunch to be redesigned, and will feature the removal of older technologies like the traditional hard disk drive and optical drives, in favor of digital distribution and SSD drives.

Assuming the latest report lines up with past rumors and reports, here is what we could possibly see from a refreshed MacBook Pro line this year:

• Thin and light MacBook Air inspired design
• Dual Core & Quad Core Ivy Bridge CPU’s with speeds up to 2.9GHz
• An ultra high resolution display at 2880×1800
• SSD drive to replace the traditional hard drives
• Removal of the optical drive
• Longer battery life
• Emphasis on digital distribution for software installation

Taiwanese trade publication Digitimes previously suggested that a new MacBook Pro (or Air) 15″ model may come in March, which would coincide nicely with the iPad 3 rollout. If the suspected high resolution display was included, it would also help to resolve the issue of designing for a retina iPad resolution on the currently smaller screen resolutions offered with Mac laptops.

The iPad 3 will be announced in the first week of March and likely go on sale soon after, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD. Typically well connected and the source of most accurate leaks from Apple, AllThingsD says the event will probably be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

As for the device itself, AllThingsD reiterates existing rumors that iPad 3 will have a much faster processor and a high resolution “retina” display. Here is a roundup of the current rumors to paint a better picture of the device we’ll see in March:

• Quad-Core CPU
• Improved graphics chip
• 2048×1536 resolution retina display
• Dual Mode CDMA-GSM Support for 3G devices
• Improved rear and front cameras
• Enclosure, size, and appearance practically identical to iPad 2
• Siri integration
• Likely to ship with iOS 5.1

Most of these rumors have been around a while in some form or another. There is also some speculation that the next iPad won’t be called iPad 3 at all, but possibly iPad 2S, iPad HD, or something else entirely.

Regarding the physical appearance of the device, AllThingsD says the next iPad will be “similar in form factor to the iPad 2″. This is familiar wording to the final rumors leading up to the iPhone 4S’s release last year, which ended up looking almost identical to the prior generation iPhone 4. The idea of having a similar appearance is also backed up by recently leaked images from Apple.pro that are said to be of the third generation iPad rear shell:

These pictures show what appears to be a rear enclosure for an iPad with a 3G antenna, and although it looks nearly the same as iPad 2 there are some minor differences in how the interior is laid out.

Update: The New York Times is also chiming in with their own sources, confirming the early March timeframe and also reaffirming some of the hardware rumors:

An Apple employee said that the version of the new iPad that is being tested inside the company is “essentially the same size and shape as the iPad 2,” with an improved and “truly amazing” screen. The tablet will include a faster processor, said the employee, who did not want to be identified because Apple is not fond of leaks.

The NYT report also raises some questions on naming the next iPad, which may or may not be called iPad 3.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 added several new high-dpi interface elements, giving another hint that Apple may be working towards releasing Macs with ‘retina’ displays.

DaringFireball points out that it’s possible these elements were updated to make Universal Access and cursor artwork more attractive, but also mentions that some Mac Mini users inadvertently booted into high-dpi display modes when connected to a TV via HDMI:

The simplest explanation is that Apple only just now got around to increasing the resolution of these elements for the benefit of users who use the cursor-zooming Universal Access feature. But, combined with the fact that some people with Mac Minis connected to TVs via HDMI are reporting that after upgrading to 10.7.3, their system rebooted in HiDPI mode, I can’t help but wonder whether we may be on the cusp of Apple releasing HiDPI Mac displays and/or HiDPI MacBooks. I.e.: retina display Macs.

The most noticeable element changes are visible when increasing cursor size, where before a pixelated cursor would appear and now the cursors are smoothed and significantly higher resolution. These higher res images could be appropriate for use on a Mac with a High-DPI display.

Other UI artwork was also updated, as MacRumors pointed out with this comparison image of showing the subtle difference between Mac OS X 10.7.2 and 10.7.3:

Mac OS X Lion has provided a variety of clues that retina Macs may be coming sometime in the near future. From the unusually high res wallpapers, HiDPI display modes, HiDPI options, to the giant icon artwork, there is a fair amount of evidence to suggest that Apple is in some stage of developing Macs with ultra high display resolutions.

There have also been rumors to support this idea. Late last year, Digitimes reported that Apple would release a MacBook Pro equipped with a high resolution retina display in the second quarter of 2012. There is also the expectation that iPad 3 will feature a ‘retina’ display, leading many to assume that a Mac would launch around the same time frame to support development of high resolution apps and artwork for the device.

An iPad 3 with “a full HD display” will arrive in March, according to a new report from Digitimes, who cites industry sources in Taiwan. According to Digitimes, Apple will launch the iPad 3 in the coming months of 2012, with it’s primary new feature being the retina display:

The iPad 3 will come with a QXGA (1,536×2,048 pixels) display and longer battery life although its other hardware specifications may not be so amazing as expected, said the sources.

Digitimes also mentions that the existing iPad 2 will likely see a price drop $100 to about $399 in order to better compete with other tablet offerings:

Apple will take the advantage of the iPad 3 launch to slash the price of its iPad 2 to US$399, the sources claimed.

Much of this is in line with the rumors from last November regarding the iPad 3, although Digitimes then goes off the deep-end and suggests that an “iPad 4″ will be released in October of 2012, an unlikely scenario.