Apple iPhone 5: Possible Release Date Approaches, Likely Features Leaked But Naming Still Remains A Mystery

Prior to the release of the 2011 version of the iPhone, the device was widely referred to as the "iPhone 5." But the Cupertino giant surprised the tech world by releasing the "iPhone 4S" and proved that moniker incorrect.

When it comes to this year's model, most of the people have been referring to the upcoming iPhone model as the "iPhone 5" once again. But the question is - Will Apple stick to its numbering system to name the next version of its flagship smartphone or will it choose to be unpredictable?

Cody Lee of iDownloadBlog thinks that Apple is still fond of numbers and made "an interesting case" for why the next iPhone could be called the iPhone 5 after all. The site referred to a MacRumors thread, in which a forum member named "Millonaire2k" laid out a few "obvious, albeit interesting" points:

2007 iphone named: iphone (because it's a cool name)

2008 iphone named: iphone 3G (because of the 3G speed)

2009 iphone named: iphone 3Gs (because of the extra speed for the 3G)

2010 iphone named: iphone 4 (because it would be dumb to call it iphone 5,6,7,8 or anything else.)

2011 iphone named: iphone 4s (because every two years they like to add a "s" for speed and calling it 5 would be retarded when it looks the same. It also allows them to sell a crap load of new phones with very little changed.)

Millonaire2k tried to make the point that Apple is not naming its iPhone models based on their generation. If that were the case, then the next iPhone would be called the "iPhone 6," since it's the sixth iteration of the handset.

According to the iDownloadBlog report, two suitable choices for naming the next iPhone are the "iPhone 5″ and "the new iPhone." Even here, the "iPhone 5" makes more sense.

"The latter still sounds weird to me because Apple will likely have 4 different iPhone models on the market this fall - the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S, and this year's model. How does the average consumer determine that 'the new iPhone' is above the 4S? This is where the 5 makes more sense," said Lee.

"Personally, I wasn't too crazy with 'the new iPad' name, for one obvious reason. When Apple releases their fourth-generation tablet in 2013, calling it the 'new new iPad' would make absolutely no sense," said Bryan M. Wolf of AppAdvice. "Therefore, I expect to see the 'iPad 4' debut next year, as Apple once again uses a numbering system to name their iOS devices."

A New iPhone, But Not 'iPhone 5'

Opposed to the aforementioned reasons, many others believe that there won't be an "iPhone 5" but "the new iPhone."

In a recent report, Sam Biddle of Gizmodo made the following points:

• The original, 2G iPhone was just called The iPhone.
• The second iPhone was the iPhone 3G.
• The third iPhone was the iPhone 3GS.
• The fourth iPhone was the iPhone 4, which made sense from a marketing perspective because we were all used to the "3" from 3GS in the predecessor. And it was literally the fourth iPhone.
• The fifth iPhone is the current model, the iPhone 4S-you're already using an iPhone 5.

According to Biddle, the upcoming iPhone will be the sixth of its kind, so calling it the iPhone 5 will be confusing and it will "send Apple down a dizzying trajectory of numerical product names with no end."

Biddle said that its time for Apple to think about how the iPhone would be called from years from now. If the company still follows the number system, in 2017, customers will be queuing up to purchase an iPhone 8S or something like that, which, according to him, is "patently dumb."

"Apple realized it was dumb with the most recent iPad-so we got a 'New iPad,' which is officially just called the iPad, instead of the iPad 3. It's the same reason we'll get a 'New iPhone,' which will officially just be called the iPhone, as will every iPhone after that, forever and ever," said Biddle.

Whatever it's finally called, the next generation iPhone is highly expected to come with a major design overhaul, sporting a larger 4-inch Retina display and a smaller doc connector, replacing the current 30-pin port.

Rumors also suggest that the handset would run on iOS 6, which would be completely scalable to a larger 640 x 1136 display. The device is also likely to feature a much-improved processor, 4G LTE technology, Near Field Communication (NFC), 1GB RAM, iOS 6, improved Siri, liquidmetal casing, an 8 megapixel (or even higher) rear camera, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a much-improved battery life.

Latest reports suggest that Apple has planned to introduce the new iPhone at a special event Sept. 12, with the actual release tipped for the following Friday, Sept. 21.

The company is also expected to start taking pre-orders of the new iPhone "at least in the US," from Sept. 12, iMore has reported.