next generation

A "reliable" source who tipped off 9to5mac that the iPhone 5 would not be released last year, said the new handset is now gearing up for production. The tipster said there are several prototypes floating around Foxconn in China so it's hard to tell which one will be the final product. All the sample devices feature a 4+ inch display, but none of them feature the rumored teardrop design.

Dreams of a teardrop shaped iPhone were dashed in November when an iLounge source said the iPhone 5 would not be receiving a redesign. Both sources seem to believe the next-generation iPhone will be available this summer.

The notion of a waterproof iPhone is laughable to anyone who's accidentally dropped their device in a pool or been stuck in a rainstorm. Apple has been clear when it comes to Apple Care claims that water damage is not covered, even going so far as to install liquid sensors in iPhones.

All this could be set to change if HzO succeeds in its efforts to get Apple to treat their devices with WaterBlock technology during the manufacturing process. HzO won this year's CES Innovations Design and Engineering Award for a nano-scale film barrier that repels water from sensitive electronics.

Sources have told BGR the iPhone 5 will indeed be a complete redesign, with an appearance much like the form factor of the iPad 2. The front glass of the next generation iPhone will be connected to an all-aluminum back via a rubberized bezel. The mockup below illustrates what the aluminum iPhone might look like.

The bezel is said to be made of a similar material to the Apple Bumper cases. Not only would this bezel conceal a completely redesigned antenna system, it sounds like this would help make the iPhone 5 less slippery to hold. After all, the machined aluminum found on the iPad 2 is slick in more ways than one.

Apple submits plenty of patents every year that never see the light of day, but a recent filing published in the database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Dec. 22 has a lot of people overly excited. Application 20110311895, filed in August 2010, reveals that Apple is looking into hydrogen fuel cell technology. Hydrogen fuel cells would allow batteries to last for weeks without recharging, and would also make devices lighter and slimmer. Too bad it is years away from reality.

Even Apple acknowledges in their patent application that “it is extremely challenging to design hydrogen fuel cell systems which are sufficiently portable and cost-effective to be used with portable electronic devices.” Hydrogen fuel cells would also be friendlier to the environment eliminating the use of toxic chemicals for hydrogen.

Now that iOS 5.1 beta has been seeded to developers, new iPhone 5 hardware has been confirmed with a reference in the source code. iPhone5,1 refers to the next generation device, and by Apple's naming conventions points to a completely new design in the works. Other new device references including a possible Sprint iPad 2 (iPad2,4) and the iPad 3 have also been discovered.

Reports have indicated the iPhone 5 will feature a larger screen and a faster A6 processor. The concept above from ADR Studio shows a slimmer iPhone 5 with an aluminum back and edge to edge display.