Next Gen iPhone5.1

The next iPhone (iPhone 5,1) will be available later this October will feature the same 3.5-inch screen or very close to it, support 4G LTE networks and come with  a new micro dock connector. 

Rene Ritchie of iMore writes:

• Similar if not same sized screen (currently 3.5-inch but not set in stone)
• 4G LTE radio
• New “micro dock” connector
• Fall/October 2012 release

iMore had correctly predicted the date of the iPad event and that the new iPad will support 4G LTE networks.

Apple was planning to replace the standard 30-pin dock connector that is used in the iPhone, iPad and iPod with something more compact. However, replacing the standard 30-pin connector would result in compatibility issues with existing accessories that make use of the dock connector (unless Apple also provides a convertor). Apple has been quite prepared to take such hard decisions to achieve the goal of making their iOS devices thinner and smaller in the past. For example: Apple was one of the first companies to start using the micro-SIM card. With the introduction of PC Free features such as Wi-Fi Sync, AirPlay and iCloud, the importance of the dock connector has changed, so the possibility of a smaller dock connector cannot be ruled out.

As we had mentioned yesterday that though the 4G strings that were discovered in iOS 5.1 did not confirm that the next iPhone will support 4G LTE networks, it was quite likely with the launch of 4G LTE iPad.

It remains to be seen if Apple will stick with the 3.5-inch screen, it is quite evident from the comments from some of our readers that it is quite high on the wish list for many users.