Jobs worked closely with the designing of the next iPhone

The year’s most hotly anticipated smartphones have been the Galaxy S III, the flagship handset from Samsung and the upcoming iPhone, the highly anticipated refresh to the iPhone 4S. One of the two handsets has already been announced with the Samsung Galaxy S III expected to hit shelves in India on the last day of this month. The other much awaited smartphone, the next iPhone aka iPhone 5 is yet to be announced and as of yet, it is anybody’s guess as to when the launch date is scheduled for. However, shortly after the iPhone 4S was unveiled; rumours about the next iPhone began to gain momentum. The latest bit of information regarding the upcoming iPhone comes from  Bloomberg, where they claim that Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple has worked closely on the design of the smartphone.

Larger display to be featured here (Concept image - Fuse Chicken)

As per the report by the publication, “Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has placed orders from suppliers in Asia for screens that are bigger than the 3.5- inch size now on the smartphone, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October, one person said.” The report goes on to add, “The design change will be Apple’s first for the iPhone since 2010, when it introduced the iPhone 4. Electronics makers, led by Samsung, are moving toward bigger screens, as consumers use handheld devices for a broader array of tasks, including watching video, playing games and browsing the Web.”

This is the third major news publication that has been informed that Apple will incorporate a bigger display on their next iPhone with Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, both stating that the sixth generation iPhone will feature a screen measuring at 4 inches. Apart from the larger display, to battle competition faced by Samsung and a range of other smartphone manufacturers, the brand is also believed to fit the upcoming iPhone with LTE connectivity, NFC capabilities and a micro dock. With the rumours of the next iPhone coming in thick and fast, one can gather that the design is finalized and the only thing remaining is the production of the handset. The next iPhone is expected to be unveiled by the third quarter of this year.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?