Apple iPhone 3.0 rumor roundup

Heard any good iPhone 3.0 rumors lately? No? That's because they're all here in this tidy little roundup. The latest (pictured above) is a purported top-facing bezel frame for the "Apple iPhone 3Gen 2009." Besides being black unlike the chrome edge of the iPhone 3G, iLounge and others have noticed a repositioned ear speaker, tucked high against the top-edge that could be making way for a front-facing camera or additional sensor(s). iLounge also created a render (pictured after the break) of a 5th gen iPod nano based on information provided by a source who "has a perfect track record for accuracy." In addition to a slightly larger screen with 1.5:1 aspect, there's now a camera on the back; a redesign that dovetails nicely with rumors about Apple to getting serious with integrated video and digital cameras. iLounge also claims that there will be three new models (3G, enhanced 3G, and mainland China version lacking WiFi we suspect) of iPhones with matte plastic bodies less prone to scratching. Importantly, countries will get the phone appropriate to their telco's capabilities -- iLounge says users won't have to choose between a fast and slow iPhone, they'll get what their carriers can support. Each will ship in a choice of two capacity options with 32GB being the top-end rumored. Oh, and iPhone 3.0 will also get into the Nike+ game without requiring an adapter (like the iPod touch). These rumors ride a wave of reports that inventories of the iPhone 3G are running low and component makers are now shipping parts for the next generation iPhone. So Steve Jobs or not, we're still expecting the hardware to be announced at WWDC with possible July 17 launch.

Read -- iPhone 3.0 bezel (via iFun.de)
Read -- iPod nano with camera renders, three versions of iPhone 3.0
Read -- PCB makers begin shipments for new iPhone
Read -- Nike+
Read -- 16GB iPhone 3G listed as End of Life
Read -- 32GB iPhone 3G

[koala72 @ May 28th 2009 4:56AM]

You can already tell that it is going to look exactly the same as the last one. How exciting!

[bongo123 @ May 28th 2009 5:04AM]

yeah i know, imagine wanting to change something thats already pretty much perfect...

[Brian! @ May 28th 2009 5:29AM]

The iPhone is not prefect. Not by a long-shot. I am a iPhone owner, and I do like it a lot in many ways and I hope that its gets better with 3.0 OS.... Still, to think that any Apple products is perfect is naive at best.

Don't you remember before Apple became a control-freak-greedy corporation and they were the underdog with the motto "Think Different"? I look forward to the designer that thinks out of the box and brings us the next generation portable interface.

[Michael Scrip @ May 28th 2009 5:30AM]

Once Apple reached "big glass screen" there's nowhere else for them to go.

[CreepinJesus @ May 28th 2009 6:53AM]

The iPhone is a pretty ugly design in my view and it feels a bit tacky. There are much better designs around and coming, like HTC's Touch Diamond2.

[ShirkPower @ May 28th 2009 7:07AM]

The iPhone design is the best on the market,
if you dont LOVE it you must not have ever seen or held one.

Apple naled it, its fits right into your hand and looks so sleek.
Cmon guys, stop hating and give Apple some props for perfecting the dam thing.

[bondsbw @ May 28th 2009 8:46AM]

@iNEEDaniPhone

Seriously? Why would you use that website? You have a REAL computer, and because of your obsession with the iPhone, you must use a website to get your fix?

I've had an iPhone for 2 years, and fully plan on getting a new one in July. I am what you would call a "fanboy", but give me a break.

The site doesn't even work right... Safari looks like the iPhone but doesn't work like it, and everything else is an ad.

[Phoenix @ May 28th 2009 9:06AM]

he's been spamming that site everywhere, just ignore it

[nikster @ May 28th 2009 9:50AM]

the iPhone was a huge leap forward, now they are doing incremental improvements. what else should they do, you can't really expect them to come up with the next big thing while the competition hasn't even managed to outdo the 1st gen iPhone.

And after 2 years of owning an iPhone I have to say: Any phone that doesn't have a glass screen need not apply. I had this phone in my front pocket without any protection for 2 years, every day, and the screen looks as good as new. There is one barely visible scratch on it, the rest is absolutely perfect. This, gentlemen, is quality.

[Duke @ May 28th 2009 10:22AM]

NEEDaniPhone, that site is just stupid. Spam it all you want, but get the damn phone and move on in life if you are so into it.

As far as people saying the phone isn't changing enough and it's so flawed, you are equally desperate to me. The iPhone is pretty damn nice right now and doesn't need an overall change in design. It needs some improvements, but not an overall design change. What would be nice are a few more buttons if they want games to be more acceptable and some faster speeds in processing. Overall though, it does not need an entirely new design at the time when other makers are just coming to use its pluses. How the heck is it tacky when the HTC's Touch Diamond2 is more or less like its design as is the soon to be Zune HD as well? Many of you are desperate to jump on the iPhone and cut it apart without thinking aren't you?

[iphonerulez @ May 28th 2009 12:33PM]

That black bezel alone indicates that the Palm Pre is dead-on-arrival. I showed my dog this photo of the iPhone bezel and he started wagging his tail. Then I showed him a photo of the Pre and he nearly tried to bite my hand off. My dog has excellent taste for cellphones and hands.

[OneLove @ Jul 6th 2009 9:23AM]

Wait, iphone 3.0? What happened to iphone 3GS?

[Michael @ May 28th 2009 5:04AM]

Nice, now I can take pictures of my hand!

Seriously, why isn't the camera at the top?

[Tim Shundo @ May 28th 2009 5:25AM]

You turn the iPod sideways and hold it with your thumbs and index fingers.

[Michael @ May 28th 2009 5:33AM]

@ Tim

Figures. The Nano is small enough that you should be able to take one handed (portrait) pictures though!

[ShirkPower @ May 28th 2009 7:08AM]

Dude its a mock-up...
just an idea...
artists made this..

[loosely_coupled @ May 28th 2009 5:05AM]

Likely:
- 600Mhz ARM Cortex-A8 based processor (like Palm Pre, roughly equal to 1200mhz ARM11)
- Imagination PowerVR SGX graphics processor (should be at least 2x as fast as the current MBX lite in iPhone)
- 32GB NAND flash

not as likely but possible:
- OLED Screen
- Front-facing videoconferencing camera

unlikely:
- major design change

[ShirkPower @ May 28th 2009 7:09AM]

Lets hope they up the battery a bit,
that would make it twice the battery of the pre

[HeyItsAndrew @ May 28th 2009 11:08AM]

Those specs are better than my first PC, i had 2 hard drives that didn't equal a gig. lol, how things have changed.

[Oskin @ May 29th 2009 11:52AM]

I sure hope they add an OLED display... With the Zune HD and the Sony going for it. My guess is microsoft thinki Apple is coming with an OLED as they rushed the news out. I'm a big iPhone fan and i sure will buy the new one but i'd still be disapointed if they don't have an OLED display. I'm still wondering what will the "One more thing" be!

[Cash @ May 28th 2009 5:07AM]

By the looks of these bezels, it looks like Apple moved the headphone port to the bottom right of the phone, and done away with the home button, unless it's shrunk substantially, and there is another piece of plastic that fits over the bottom half of the top bezel. Altering the home button I can understand, but why they moved the headphone port to the bottom of the unit is beyond me. I like the headphone plug where it's at right now, personally, as it works perfectly when it's in my inside coat or jeans pocket.

[Jeffrey @ May 28th 2009 5:20AM]

I kind of like the headphone port at the bottom. When I put my iPhone back to the jean's pocket, it's usually upside down.

[Dannelander @ May 28th 2009 5:25AM]

Well, actually the current iphones headphone port isn't a part of the bezel. So why should the new one be? Not a doubt in my mind that they're gonna leave it on the top of the phone. Regarding the indentation on the bottom right, I'd guess that's there to make room for a camera button, if anythnig at all. The reason for this is that (if the rumors are true) they seem to be pushing the camera features of the next phone. If they're serious about video as well, with built in editing, I don't see any reason to not give the phone a camerabutton.

And if you look closely, there is absolutly room for the current home button layout as well. The bottom of the bezeled pictured is lower than the rest of the framework. The home button is most likely to go on top of it.

[Peter @ May 28th 2009 11:31PM]

also note that the pic is upside down. if you didn't realize. i don't even think engadget realized too they would have flipped it if they knew

[arnaud @ May 28th 2009 6:25AM]

Another picture: http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3700/appleiphone4gbezelframe.jpg

[bongo123 @ May 28th 2009 5:12AM]

I just hope that whatever shap or form the new iphone takes, 02 will allow me to upgrade my 3G one without too much of an additional hit to the wallet, personally the iphone has been one of my best tech purchases and is used on a daily basis so i cant wait to see how they improve an already outstanding product.

[JZ @ May 28th 2009 5:20AM]

Bongo you are Steve Jobs wet-dream, consumers who will buy the latest avaible even while the changes are as minimal as possible. I´m always surprised on another forum I read that asap a new product gets released all of a sudden the second hand market gets flooded with the "old" hardware, sometimes barely 2 months even. Even the changes between the first and second gen are minimum and you can only take benefit from it when you happen to live in a city with some good coverage otherwise its no benefit at all.
I do wonder though how Apple will handle their appstore since this new version is likely a bit more powerful that maybe new apps can take the full potential out of it but older iPhones might get troubled.

[cbw87 @ May 28th 2009 6:13AM]

@JZ

Ignoring the rest of your statement as I don't have the time, I'd just like to point out that since he mentioned O2, he's in the UK, and coverage is pretty much across the whole country here, not just some major cities.* Benefits of being a tiny island.

* obviously, it still isn't perfect, e.g. in the mountains, or in the middle of nowhere, but we have much less "nowhere" than other countries.

[FuzzyCat @ May 28th 2009 11:30AM]

@cbw87

"Ignoring the rest of your statement as I don't have the time, I'd just like to point out that since he mentioned O2, he's in the UK, and coverage is pretty much across the whole country here, not just some major cities."

Except that's not true at all. There are huge gaping areas of the UK without 3G coverage. Come to Suffolk, Norfolk or anywhere away from an A road.

[TareX @ May 28th 2009 5:15AM]

It will be old gen compared to Tegra WM and Android devices also arriving this summer, and it's OS will be impotent compared to the Palm Pre's webOS.

It seems that Apple is saving a real upgrade for every other iPhone.... so in 2007 we had a lacking device which was OK because it had a revolutionary UI and screen.Then in 2008 it was a good step forward with 3G, GPS and 3rd party apps. Now, we're gonna see minor changes.... and the bigger changes should make an appearance next year.

Only problem is other platforms and phones have catched up in would should have been alarming speed for Apple.

[smethead @ May 28th 2009 5:29AM]

There have been only two iPhone versions, of which the second one was a great improvement on the first one. Why should the next one not be a great improvement too?

[TareX @ May 28th 2009 5:30AM]

Because the leaked specs say otherwise.

[Brian! @ May 28th 2009 5:36AM]

I was messing with my brother's Android phone and I didn't like the interface as much as my iPhone, but is was close. I suspect that the next OS release is going to be a lot closer, if not equal. Feature-wise, the Android was cooler out of the box, but lacks a few of the apps I really like to use on the iPhone - something I am sure will change as well.

I don't know if it exists, but if Google were to write a compiler that would take iPhone app code and compile it into usable Android code, then they would be able to lure tons of application writers to both platforms. That would be a blow to the iPhone.

Right now I own the iPhone and think it is great for personal, only so-so for business and I would love to see it beaten by the competition so that Apple has to step up their game again.

[ShirkPower @ May 28th 2009 7:12AM]

Obvious troll is obvious.

Your first mistake is thinking that Apple is sitting on their asses...
Like they dont know whats in store for other phones.

Just chill,
When this new phone is released it will still be 5 years ahead of any other phone, like usual.

[Phenoum @ May 28th 2009 4:02PM]

@ shirk

Obvious Phanboi is Obvious

If you ever actually thought the iPhone is/was 5 years ahead of the game you:

A: know nothing of processor speeds
B: would be happy without 3G for another 3 years
C: dont like increased storage space
D: have NO idea what WebOS and n97 refer to

Refute any of these based on your '5 year' theory and i'll gladly rescind my comments.
(m-w.com has definitions for big words if you need them)

[Ben @ May 28th 2009 5:18AM]

I went into an O2 store yesterday and was playing with one of the iPhones. A woman next to me was also having a go with them and when a Sales assistant asked if she needed any help, she asked about storage space. She was looking at a white 16GB version he said but he also said, "we are expecting upgrades".

Can this possibly be a half-confirmation of an Iphone 3.0?

[liamf555 @ May 28th 2009 5:23AM]

I think its all but officialy confirmed isn't it. It is pretty much definite that there is going to be a new iPhone.

[Ben @ May 28th 2009 5:26AM]

Yeh. Can't wait. Never owned an iPhone but hopefully ill get my chance soon enough!
I just hope it isn't too expensive. Dont want it to burn my wallet!

[Rickster @ May 28th 2009 10:40AM]

I couldn't be more excited, I've been stuck with T-Mobile for much too long. My contract has expired and I'm just waiting for the new iPhone to make it's grand entrance. Can't wait!

[glenskey @ May 28th 2009 5:19AM]

that camera is on the wrong end, your finger would get in the way of it.

[bongo123 @ May 28th 2009 5:33AM]

"Bongo you are Steve Jobs wet-dream, consumers who will buy the latest avaible even while the changes are as minimal as possible"

I would say I am one of the millions of consumers who find the iphone to be pretty much damn near perfect except for a few missing features which this new update is promising to bring, and like the millions of users who went and bought an iphone we have the disposable cash to upgrade our phones if and when a new version is released. Upgrading my iphone to a new one is no different from gamers who upgrade their graphics cards or hell anyone who has something that they use on a daily basis, think is great and therefore would like to the own the new and improved version.

Everyone i know wants one or is waiting till their current contracts expire to buy one, the only people who don’t want one or constantly slam it.... all seem to be on here... go figure.

[Chubaka @ May 28th 2009 5:35AM]

So...is designing carrier-specific phones a way to counter jailbreaking? I would imagine that jailbreaking a phone that doesn't even have the hardware to support other carriers would be pretty useless, except for maybe the apps.

[rawrawrawr @ May 28th 2009 5:37AM]

I would like to see mechanical music controls. That would be pretty awesome.

[Luke Bornheimer @ May 28th 2009 5:38AM]

Hey the Nike+ article link is broken... is there another one?

[bailystevens @ May 28th 2009 5:40AM]

@JZ

Actually, In my part of England (Rural area, 30000 people tops) I seem to get 3G infact, HSDPA (spelling?) pretty much anywhere I go, so its not just the big cities

[pechorin @ May 28th 2009 6:00AM]

no front camera for video conference? are you in the middle age??

[Matt @ May 28th 2009 6:20AM]

I for one will be devastated not to see a grainy picture of my ugly ass work colleague whilst holding my phone out infront of me looking like a complete arse with dodgy sound quality and ambient noise from using the mic.

[pechorin @ May 28th 2009 6:38AM]

Matt, definitely, you are in the middle age.

[Dillinger @ May 28th 2009 10:31AM]

Yep, cause every phone in the world now has a front facing camera, i mean look at the palm pre, its got what a 100 megapixel camera on the front with a laser flash and douche detection.

[logicbomb.de @ May 28th 2009 5:48PM]

@ Dillinger,


Don't forget, Palm promises to have 10000x more fart apps than Apple by the end of the year!!