Updated: Today
Topic:

Apple

What to expect in the new iPhone

Finding the best guesses in a thicket of rumors.

We'll know what's in the new iPhone shortly after 10 a.m. Pacific -- that's when Apple CEO Steve Jobs starts his presentation in San Francisco -- but in the meantime, lets sort through the rumors to get at the most-likely specs of Apple's new mobile:

  • 3G networking: This is certain. Apple and AT&T have confirmed that the second-generation iPhone will have faster data speeds than today's model, which uses a slower networking system called EDGE.
  • A more open operating system: This is also guaranteed. Apple introduced a software development kit, or SDK, for the iPhone months ago, allowing third-party developers to create programs for the new model (and current models).
  • GPS: This is a near certainty. According to several reports over the last few months -- including a confirmation by Engadget -- the new phone will include GPS mapping capabilities.
  • It'll be cheaper: This one's not nearly as certain, but seems probable. Reports in recent days suggest that Apple, reconsidering its previous strategy, is now allowing phone carriers to subsidize the cost of the iPhone when customers buy a mobile plan. According to USA Today's sources, the phone, which now goes for $399, could sell for as low as $199.

Apple Inc. in the news

Loading...

Recommended Reads

The world in the iPod
The microchip that runs Apple's popular music player is made in India, Taiwan, China and Silicon Valley. Is this an example of how globalization works to everyone's benefit -- or a sign that the world economy is about to roll over America?
By Andrew Leonard, Salon

iLove it or iHate it
Is Apple's new blue bombshell a hit or a dud?
By Janelle Brown and Scott Rosenberg, Salon

An end to the Apple turnover
Steve Jobs accepts the inevitable -- and embraces the CEO title.
By Lydia Lee, Salon

Steve Jobs' iTunes dance
Now the Apple CEO says he would gladly sell songs without digital restrictions, if the record companies let him. That's hardly a brave defiance, and besides, I don't believe him.
By Cory Doctorow, Salon

Apple's iTunes sells 5 billion songs, but you don't own them
Why DRM means your music isn't really yours.
By Farhad Manjoo, Salon

Steve Jobs’ 2009 letter to the community about his health.
Terse and obfuscatory, this thing is Jobs all over.

Apple's obsession with secrecy grows stronger
Apple’s decision to limit communication with the media, shareholders and the public is at odds with the approach of other companies, which are embracing online outlets like blogs and Twitter.
By Brad Stone and Ashlee Vance, The New York Times

The Untold Story: How the iPhone blew Up the wireless industry
This 4.8-ounce sliver of glass and aluminum is an explosive device that has forever changed the mobile-phone business.
By Fred Vogelstein, Wired

A list of Steve Jobs' best quotes
An example: "The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament."
By Owen Linzmayer, Wired

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs
Fake Steve Jobs tells all in this hilarious and often informative act of fraudulent auto-blography.

Currently in Salon

Other News