iPhone 5 Could Be iPhone 4G

The upcoming iPhone 5 could turn out to be called iPhone 4G and finally connect the dots.

Following the Verizon iPhone announcement, which many Apple fans hoped would be more than what it turned out to be, several new clues about the upcoming iPhone 5 and iPad 2 have appeared on the Web. Let's consider Facetime as a hint of what is in the pipeline. Steve Jobs hinted at something possibly happening in 2011 as far as taking advantage of a data-intensive Facetime service on a mobile network.

Will the iPhone 5 actually be the iPhone 4G with 4G HSPA+ connectivity to be announced in June 2011, with the iPhone 4G with 4G LTE connectivity to be announced in January 2012? A source talking to Engadget indicates otherwise, and says the iPhone 5 will be a world phone capable of connecting to whatever network it comes across. In that particular aspect, we'll stick to the iPhone 4G theory for now.

However, Engadget's source brings up a number of other interesting information, such as a successor to the Apple A4 chip. Rumors of that has appeared on the Web in the last few days. According to Engadget's source, the next big thing in Apple's world is indeed an Apple A5 chip, which could possibly be available as three slightly different chips in the iPhone 5, iPad 2 and next-generation Apple TV, respectively.

Apple last year acquired a company called Intrinsity, which is regarded as a key acquisition to make sure that Apple chips can be designed in a way that lays the foundation for Apple bets to shine. Microsoft, on the other hand, has placed its bet on Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips. We predicted an entertainment battle between Apple and Microsoft last year.

However, Motorola officially teamed up with NVIDIA to join the entertainment battle during CES 2011 (more on the Droid Bionic). Motorola even took it further a couple of days later by creating an entirely new productivity battle too (more on the ATRIX 4G). Regardless of their performance, you can be sure of one thing though, NVIDIA will stand first in line to add WebM hardware acceleration.

Qualcomm, TI and Samsung are key members of the Open Handset Alliance, and will be quick to add WebM hardware acceleration too. Soon, all major manufacturers will offer WebM hardware acceleration, except Apple. H.264 will shine on Apple's iOS devices, while WebM will not. Also, while Intel may be planning to ruin Apple's ultimate Hollywood dream both on devices and in the digital home, let's not forget that Apple indeed has plans for a much larger effort than what has been seen to date also in the digital home.

That's where the next-generation Apple A5 chip comes into play. Especially on the new Apple TV, Apple must bring both the hardware experience and the content selection to a new level as the competition heats up. Engadget's source says that 1080p H.264 playback on the new Apple TV runs like flowing water. Nobody will expect less from Intrinsity.

So, what will the Apple A5 chip be tailored for on the iPhone 5 and iPad 2? Well, Engadget's source says that we should expect the Apple A5 chip to be multi-core capable. If that's the case, an 25% increase in general performance on a single core design without sacrificing battery life may possibly be expected. There's also a possibility that the iPad 2 will offer a bigger L2 cache to make it more computer-like. The iPhone 5 may possibly get the same treatment.

Last but not least, Engadget's source says that the iPad 2 will get a higher resolution in an attempt to create a Retina Display experience. In that regard, we imagine the iPad 2 will get higher memory bandwidth to squeeze out more power of the Apple A5 chip's integrated GPU, and ultimately take 3D gaming to the next level as far as hardware capabilities are concerned.

Let's not forget, however, that Samsung, Qualcomm, NVIDIA and Texas Instruments will all be delivering top-notch hardware solutions in 2011. Needless to say, 2011 is not the year when Apple can rely on hardware performance alone - it'll need to deliver the goods as far as service integration and capabilities are concerned. Steve Jobs has already promised that the MobileMe cloud service will get a lot better, so we'll keep our fingers crossed for promises to be held.