Apple iPhone 3GS to get WWDC unveil? Rumor roundup
With the Apple WWDC 2009 Keynote a matter of hours away now, it seems as good a time as any to wrap up the latest next-gen iPhone rumors. We've already heard about the higher-resolution camera with newly acquired video recording capabilities; now Daring Fireball are suggesting that the handset will in fact be called the iPhone 3GS, believed to be its current in-house codename. The iPhone 3GS will be just one of a range of multiple Apple smartphones: as many as twelve, according to carrier information leaked to Spazio Cellulare.Update: The iPhone 3G S has been announced!After the cut: more iPhone predictions, plus OS X news expected at the WWDC
Those new devices are listed as the "iPhone Video" and the "iPhone Video iChat", the former available in white and black and with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage and the latter in 32GB or 64GB and a range of colors. They include white, black, orange, blue, "green w/flowers", "yellow w/fluffy bunnies" and "Product Red".
Daring Fireball expects the iPhone range to start at $99, with the existing 8GB iPhone 3G to slip down to that new price point and be replaced with the iPhone 3GS flagship. Those paying $199 for the latest phone would get a slightly redesigned casing with new color-scheme so that passers-by would know how fashionable they are. They even go so far as to suggest that this will be the "quiet" news of the day, with the cut-priced iPhone 3G only really being a way to burn through final stock and perhaps even being an Apple Store-only promotion.
Finally, there's talk of the new feature set for the iPhone 3GS (or "iPhone Video") and that's a combination of leak, speculation from the iPhone OS 3.0 API set and what AT&T and Apple have suggested in the past. One much-anticipated feature is tethering, and that's finally expected to make an appearance in terms of an official iPhone feature that would have to be sanctioned by carriers (and likely paid for by users). Elsewhere the iPhone 3GS is expected to have 15-20 percent longer battery life, a faster processor and twice the RAM and storage. Price is expected to stay at $199 for the new 16GB model and $299 for the new 32GB model.
Other expectations are that OS X "Snow Leopard" will finally get its official release, though there's some discussion on pricing. Daring Fireball suggest an upgrade price lower than the traditional $129 (though not free) considering Snow Leopard is more bug fixes than anything else; however Computerworld are anticipating more headline features from which Apple may expect their usual upgrade tithe. These include Microsoft Exchange support "out of the box", extra Quicktime X efficiency thanks to OpenCL new support for GPUs, and talk of GPS and Core Location plugins borrowed from the iPhone's API set.
Finally, Computerworld tip a new 3G update to much of Apple's MacBook range, though they draw the line at GPS or WiMAX, and expect a new 30-inch Cinema Display with Mini DisplayPort connectivity. They don't predict camera-toting iPods until August.
Remember, SlashGear will be live-blogging the whole Apple WWDC 2009 Keynote, so join us at 10am PT (1pm New York; 6pm London) at http://live.slashgear.com/ for all the news as it's announced!
[Spaczio Cellulare via fonearena]