Why iPhone 5 / iPhone 4S Announcement Is Possible at WWDC 2011

By confirming the unveiling of OS X Lion, a sneak peek at iOS 5 and iCloud on June 6, Apple has pretty much laid out the entire agenda for its WWDC 2011 keynote address. Or has it?

A press release from Cupertino, California issued May 31, 2011 suggests that Apple has confirmed all the major announcements for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote.

To those tracking Apple, this may seem strange as the company almost never confirms major new products via a typical press release.

They even confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs will be live, on stage delivering the keynote alongside his colleagues.

Basically Apple is giving up one of the things its keynotes are famous for - the element of surprise.

So why would Apple do that if it didn’t know it has “one more thing” up its sleeve?

Yes, we’re talking about a new iPhone, of course. For months it has been speculated that Apple will hold off the iPhone 5 announcement for 2012, and that this year’s refresh will be the iPhone 4S, an incremental upgrade.

Reports about the hardware Apple has been sourcing for its portables have done well to paint a picture of the company’s upcoming plans with its popular smartphone.

It appears that the next iPhone (be it the iPhone 4S or the iPhone 5) will have a relocated LED flash.

The light will be shooting out from the opposite upper corner on the back of the handset, far away from the rumored 8 megapixel camera reportedly supplied by Largan Precision, the same company that provides the current 4 megapixel lens modules to Apple.

The next iPhone is said to pack the A5 processor found inside the iPad 2. If history is any indication, Apple putting the A5 in its next-generation iPhone is pretty much a given.

Apple is allegedly testing iPhones and / or iPod touches with high profile game developers to see how far they can push the graphical capabilities of the chip, or how they’re going to harness the processing power.

It is also speculated that the A5 making its way into iPhones may not be dual core, as is the one inside the iPad 2.

Only Apple knows what’s in store for this summer’s iPhone refresh, if there’s even going to be one.

But if there’s no new iPhone, what else could be Apple’s famous “one more thing” announcement?