14 DAY TRIAL // File this one under “extremely unlikely”. A journalist writing for the International Business Times is racking up some iPhone 5 rumors, including one that says the next iPhone will have a back plate made of beer can material, and another that suggests we'll be using sign language to input commands.
It is unclear where Sangeeta Mukherjee is getting her intel from when she reports that "The latest Apple iPhone is expected to come with a back plate made of the same material used in beer cans, and a rubberized bezel or edge.”
For all we know, Apple could be crafting the iPhone’s back shell from the same material used in beer cans. It’s aluminum, right?
But this is not a rumor. It’s like saying Apple made the new iPad’s screen out of window glass - which is mostly true because it's mostly made from regular glass.
Mukherjee further stresses that “other rumors indicate that Apple with its iPhone 5 might also introduce an amazing technology enabling the user to control a 3D interface using touch-free motion-based gestures.”
Really? We’re in the news business ourselves (the technology-kind, even) and, frankly, this is the first time we’re hearing this.
Why would Apple want us not touching the iPhone? It would be like inputting commands via sign language.
Apart from the dozens of Apple patents that will probably never materialize, there is no real indication that Apple is planning to introduce this technology, especially in a device as small as the iPhone.
Apple is continually striving to give the user direct input methods, like speech (Siri).
Granted, the report also mentions more realistic rumors like a quad-core processor, a larger 4-inch display that may go edge to edge (lacking a bezel), or the waterproof nano-tech coating, which some vendors have already demoed to high acclaim.
4G networking is also referenced, even though LTE is pretty much a given right about now.