iPhone 5 Photos and Potential Launch Date ~ The Path To Riches

My sister Michelle pointed out last night that there are some iPhone 5 pictures out there showing a radical curved design change for the upcoming iPhone 5. They are quite different from the existing iPhone design, however, they are also just concept photos. Pretty interesting. I'm not a huge fan of the curved design.

I did some more research and found some other photos that were labeled 'alegged' instead of 'concept'. I REALLY like the looks of the alleged design! It's not all that different than the existing one, but it does look slimmer/more streamline and appears to have a slightly larger screen.

The photos are courtesy of ciccaresedesign.com

iPhone 5 Concept Photos

Alleged iPhone 5 Photos

My wife and I will be eligible for a phone upgrade in August and we were planning to give the iPhone a 2 year trial after trying out the Droid X/Android ecosystem for 2 years. My initial searches were saying that the iPhone 5 should hit in the June time frame, but I found this article on MacRumors.com from Feb 20, 2012 stating that it looks more likely that will be in the Sept-Oct time frame.

"Japanese blog Macotakara today reports that it has learned from a "reliable" source that Apple is targeting another September or October release for the iPhone this year, continuing a shift away from the mid-year launches seen prior to 2011 and yielding an approximately 12-month upgrade cycle for the iPhone 4S. The report also claims that Apple intends for the later timeframe to be part of Apple's long-term plans for iPhone launches. According to Asian reliable source, next iPhone will be released in September or October, and this cycle seems to be kept for years. MacRumors has similarly heard from a representative of a supplier known to provide parts for the iPhone that Apple's ordering plans are pointing toward a launch of new hardware in the September.

A third source also claimed to iMore last week that Apple is targeting an October launch for an LTE-enabled iPhone 5, with that source also apparently having accurately named March 7 as the date of Apple's iPad 3 media event. Apple has yet to officially announce that iPad 3 event, but the date has been confirmed as accurate by the well-connected Jim Dalrymple at The Loop.

The claims of a September or October launch for the iPhone 5 directly contradict several previous rumors that had claimed Apple would be releasing the iPhone this summer, presumably at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. That event that may be held during the week of June 11-15 this year, meaning that a product launch in the weeks after such an introduction would result in a very short lifecycle of only eight months for the iPhone 4S. Consequently, many have believed that Apple will indeed hold off on the iPhone 5 launch until later in the year as it did in 2011." 4/8 Update: There are more recent rumors circulating that June 15th could be a potential launch date for the iPhone 5 again.

I was initially thinking that it would probably be fine for us to go with either an iPhone 4 or 4S for a cheaper price once the new model comes out, however since it will most likely be the first iPhone with 4G/LTE, I'm likely to go with the new model for that particular reason.

What are your thoughts on the potential new design? Anyone else looking to make a switch over or upgrade to the iPhone 5? Would love to hear your thoughts!