next generation

Apple can't keep a lid on the latest case designs according to Mobile Fun, who claims to have two independent sources with iPhone 5 case plans. If the leaked designs are legit, it would appear the iPhone 5 is due for release in just weeks. Of course, the cases themselves are not as important as the future devices they will protect.

As seen above, the design of the iPhone 5 will not be simply an update of the iPhone 4 that some are calling the iPhone 4S. What appears in these diagrams is a radical departure not only from the iPhone 4, but possibly the most significant redesign of the iPhone since its original 2007 launch.

The iPhone has already surpassed other cameras on photo-sharing sites like Flickr, and iOS 5 and the next generation Apple iPhone are sure to accelerate this trend in the fall. Many improvements are in the works for iPhone photography in the next generation firmware.

Not only this, but the iPhone 5 hardware will likely include an 8 megapixel sensor from suppliers OmniVision and Sony. So what improvements have already been seen in the beta versions of iOS 5? Read on for a complete list.

Sure the iPhone already has voice control commands, just hold down the home button and tell your device to call someone or play a tune. iOS 5 could bring voice control to a whole new level of integration if recent reports from 9to5Mac come true.

Apple has driven speculation that it is bringing improved speech-to-text technology or even voice navigation to iOS 5 since its 2010 acquisition of Siri and recent partnership with Nuance. Both companies currently have free applications in the App Store that heavily utilize voice recognition technology.

Another day, another iPhone rumor... BGR is sticking to their earlier report that a new iPhone will be released this August, but this time their unnamed source also revealed that Apple plans to offer a cheaper prepaid iPhone and their next generation device by the end of this summer.

According to Boy Genius Report, Apple will begin selling the iPhone 3GS for around $350 with no contract. Their "incredibly solid source" could not confirm the iPhone 5 with teardrop design that they announced back in June, but they did confirm that the next generation iPhone will be announced by "late August-ish."

More reputable sources are coming out of the woodwork and pointing to inside information that Apple plans to release a redesigned iPhone by the end of September. None other than the Wall Street Journal reports that key components have already been ordered, including an improved 8 megapixel camera that will be installed in the back of the next generation device.

The mockup above may look slick, however sources have told the Wall Street Journal the iPhone 5 will be more similar to the current generation iPhone 4 form factor. Regardless, Apple has redesigned the handset and the new model will be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4. Other changes are coming to the hardware inside the device.