iPhone 5 release date: iPhone 4S users ask Siri for iPhone 5 timeframe

by Bill Palmer

Now that we can use Siri on the iPhone 4S to ask any question they want and get an ostensibly accurate answer, the first thing some users are naturally asking it is when the iPhone 5 will see release date (for the record, Siri’s answer is “Everything you need to know about Apple products is at Apple’s website”). Today marks the launch of the technically fifth generation iPhone, but it’s not the iPhone 5. Instead it’s the same old iPhone shell with new guts inside. Shutting out what might have been if Apple had managed to get a true iPhone 5 to market this year and focusing solely on what today’s new release does bring to the table, the iPhone 4S is an impressive leap forward. The new A5 processor runs circles around the old one in terms of speed, and the new camera is a major step up. But for many who saw cheerful results upon installing iOS 5 on their iPhone 4 today and managed to get everything except Siri (and AirPlay mirroring) out of the deal, albeit at slower speeds and no Sprint compatibility, they’re going to stay home for th iPhone 4S launch, leaving the iPhone 5 in 2012 looms as their next iPhone – and the great tech mystery of 2012…

The iPhone 4S launch will of course be massive. Switchers will pour in, those giving up on the fading BlackBerry and disappointing Android platforms along with those who’ve merely been waiting all this time for the iPhone to come to their preferred carrier. Users of older iPhones like the 3G and 3GS will flock to the 4S now that they’re upgrade eligible, having been forced to sit out the iPhone 4 era for contractual reasons. And plenty of iPhone 4 users will made the trade-up as well, even if it means paying $200 above sticker to get the 4S (which can be more than recouped by placing their existing iPhone 4 on eBay). But plenty of iPhone 4 users will opt to wait for the iPhone 5, despite not knowing a thing about it for sure. What are they waiting for? For one thing, they want an iPhone that doesn’t look exactly like the last three iPhones…

For those counting, the iPhone 4S comes after the white iPhone 4, Verizon iPhone 4, and original iPhone 4, marking the fourth time Apple has pushed a “new” iPhone out the door which employed the iPhone 4 body shell. The next iPhone, which is most likely to carry the name “iPhone 5″ despite technically being the sixth generation (although some readers strongly disagree that the iPhone 5 moniker will bemused), wil almost certainly have to look different than the 4S because Apple will have gone to the well one too many times otherwise. Apple’s history says the iPhone 5 will likely be thinner. Faster would also be on the table, except Apple already fired off its dual-core A5 processor cannons with the iPhone 4S today. Will an even faster A6 be ready by the time the iPhone 5 rolls out? That may depend on how long Apple waits. The long standing tradition of releasing a new iPhone every summer has gone by the wayside with this summer’s quiet period and today’s October iPhone 4S launch. Apple could resume the tradition with a summer 2012 iPhone 5 release date. Or, depending on whether the iPhone 4S shows strong or weak staying power in terms of sales into early 2012, Apple could opt to roll out the iPhone 5 as soon as February or as late as next October. Or perhaps Siri will be kind and just tell us as we cry out in unison tomorrow: “When is the iPhone 5 release date?” Here’s more on the iPhone 4S.

Updated with additional information from Siri

About Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer is Editor in Chief of Beatweek Magazine. His editorial contributions include interviews with musicians and iPhone industry coverage.