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Photos of reported gold-colored iPhone 5S surface
Tired of Apple offering iPhones solely in black or white? If photos obtained by MacBoutic are accurate, you'll get some variety soon... and some bling, for that matter. The repair shop's images reportedly show an iPhone 5S shell in a simulated gold color, supporting recent spec predictions from KGI analyst (and frequent AppleInsider tipster) Ming-Chi Kuo. While it's difficult to verify the snapshots when MacBoutic has erased all logos, this doesn't look like an aftermarket project; the hue extends to normally inaccessible parts of the phone, for example. As a result, we won't be surprised if we see a flashy gold iPhone at Apple's rumored September 10th event.
Apple's Sept. 10 event to disrupt other tech events
September 10 is a big day for the Apple faithful -- it's the day we'll likely get our first glimpse at the company's next smartphone offerings -- but it also happens to be a hot date across the tech world in general, with a laundry list of events all attempting to cram themselves into the same calendar slot. As AllThingsD reports, the Intel Developer Forum, Mobile Future Forward and TechCrunch Disrupt events are all scheduled for Sept. 10 as well. Apple's iPhone reveal may not shift attendance away from any of these venues in a particularly dramatic fashion, but it most certainly means that you'll be seeing social media buzzing about the iPhone in place of everything else, at least for the day. The best thing to do is brace yourself for all three of these events to be overshadowed by whatever Cupertino has in store.
AllThingsD: Apple's next iPhone event slated for September 10th
September 10th, folks -- that's when Apple will unveil its next iPhone according to AllThingsD. We've received no official word yet, but recent leaks (and past form) suggest a refreshed iPhone 5 (possibly with a larger screen?) and possibly a low-cost model clad in plastic. It's a safe bet that the release version of iOS 7 will also make an appearance at the event, which is shaping up to be an iPhone- and iOS-focused affair, according to ATD. Feeling a sense of déjà vu? As always, we'll keep you informed when more concrete info makes its way to us.
iOS 7 beta 4 hints at upcoming iPhone fingerprint sensor
Ever since Apple's purchase of biometric sensor company AuthenTec last year the rumor mill has been abuzz with predictions that a future iteration of the iPhone would employ built-in fingerprint authorization. Now, as 9to5Mac reports, Twitter user Hamza Sood has discovered a folder in the newly released iOS 7 beta 4 that references a biometric user interface, complete with descriptions of a setup process that includes images of a color-changing fingerprint and a person holding an iPhone with their thumb on the Home button. Earlier this month Apple was granted a patent for an in-display fingerprint sensor which would allow for biometric functionality while negating the need for a separate sensor panel. This new evidence certainly isn't a confirmation of such a feature being included in the next iPhone -- rumored to be called the iPhone 5S -- but it's definitely more validation than we normally see regarding rumors of this magnitude. [Image credit: Hamza Sood]
Apple 'in negotiations' to launch new iPhone with LTE-Advanced in South Korea
This will come too late to be a world first, if it happens at all, but an unnamed insider at SK Telecom claims his company is in talks with Apple to bring out a South Korean version of the "upcoming iPhone 5S" with support for LTE-Advanced. The official, who was quoted by The Korea Times, makes it clear that SK Telecom made the first approach, but says the two parties are now "in the middle of negotiations", implying Apple was receptive to the idea. An LTE-A iPhone could theoretically double the download speed of a regular LTE iPhone 5 in ideal conditions, thanks in large part to carrier aggregation technology that enables downloads over multiple radio channels at the same time. The Korea Times also mentions that Apple might use Qualcomm to deliver LTE-A, but that would likely mean a Qualcomm modem specifically, rather than the Snapdragon 800 used in the South Korean Galaxy S 4, since these days Apple prefers its processors to be homegrown.
iPhone 5S with dual-LED flash, slightly bigger battery spied in blurry rumor-gram
Did you back out of an iPhone 5 because it didn't have a dual-LED flash? If this leaked image from MacRumors turns out to be real, that may not be a problem for much longer. Inside and out, these blurrycam snaps purport to show an iPhone 5S which is nearly identical to its predecessor -- the only obvious differences being a slightly larger 5.92 Whr battery and the aforementioned dual-LED flash. Given that the internal layout is consistent with the iPhone 5 (pictured, after the break) and we were expecting an incremental revision this year, we're marking this one down as "plausible."
Goophone i5S KIRFs the iPhone 5S early, gives the iPhone 4S a run for its money (video)
Ah, Goophone. The company that made its name keepin' it real fake with eerily similar clones of other companies' devices, sometimes before the originals have even launched. It's clearly not dropping that tradition anytime soon, as it just previewed the i5S, an attempt to preempt the supposed iPhone 5S before even the rumor mill has produced anything tangible. As you'd almost expect, it's really a not-very-subtle imitation of the current iPhone 5 body and software that does its best to mask the use of Android (this time Jelly Bean) rather than iOS. Don't think that Goophone has learned any more about shadowing Apple on the technology front, however. The i5S is running hardware that would sometimes be trounced by a 2011-era iPhone 4S, including a dual-core 1GHz MediaTek processor, 512MB of RAM, an 854 x 480 screen and a 5-megapixel rear camera. The firm is mostly banking on absurdly low pricing to make up for the sleight-of-hand -- at its $150 launch price, the i5S costs a fraction of the real iPhone 5's price while undercutting the older yet somehow more sophisticated Goophone i5. Catch a video demo of the uncanny facsimile after the break.
T-Mobile chief: iPhone availability might come some time in the next three months, maybe
Getting an iPhone on the Magenta network? Not too hard -- but it'll get easier soon, according to the company's CEO. In a chat with Reuters, T-Mobile head honcho John Legere said that the network's iPhone launch was more likely to happen in the next "three to four months" than the next "six to nine." Not the clearest launch window, but one that fits comfortably within the carrier's LTE rollout and network reframing plans. It gives the network plenty of time to ditch its subsidies, too, which could help T-Mobile grow its US market share. "If the old industry structure chooses to ignore what we do," he told Reuters, "that's a potential." Legere didn't commit to a time frame there either, but a dual launch might make sense -- Magenta's iPhone customers don't seem to care much for subsidies anyway.
T-Mobile and Apple sign agreement to launch products in 2013
Dreams can come true, folks: T-Mobile and Apple have entered an agreement and will be launching products beginning next year. The announcement was posted (nearly as an afterthought, oddly enough) as part of a press release in which Deutsche Telekom spelled out its financial plans through 2015, while COO Rene Obermann also made the announcement in an investors conference. While the two companies have not explicitly given specifics on which Apple devices we can expect to see in a retail store near you, we wouldn't be surprised to see new products from Cupertino hitting the shelves around the same time as the fourth-largest US carrier's LTE launch in 2013. T-Mobile has made no secret of the fact that it has long been interested in carrying Apple products, as several executives have made mention of it. The company already boasts over a million unlocked iPhones in use on its network, which is currently undergoing an expansive 3G refarming effort on iPhone-friendly (amongst other quad-band phones, of course) 1900MHz frequencies. We've reached out to T-Mobile and Apple for comment and will update this post as we hear more. For now, check out the press release in all its glory below. Update: PCMag's Sascha Segan reports that T-Mobile CEO John Legere "is implying that the carrier will launch an as-yet-unannounced iPhone model." Update 2: We pinged Apple for additional comment, and while a spokesperson was pleased to "confirm the news," they couldn't add "additional details." Update 3: We also reached out to T-Mobile and were told that additional details would be given at a later date.
