iPhone 5 Rumor Round-Up: Everything About Apple’s Next Smartphone So Far

The Apple iPhone 5. Yeah, we all know it's coming. The only question is when. Even as the iPhone 4S was launched last year, people were already asking questions about the iPhone 5. How big would its screen be? Is it going to be a whole lot thinner versus the iPhone 4S? And will the dock connector really be replaced with an 8-pin?

The folks over at Apple are keeping their mouths shut, as usual, while rumors from the mundane to the slightly realistic are being thrown around. We're now well into August, so maybe this is the best time to take a look at all the rumors so far while we wait for an official announcement from Apple.

Taller Screen. Big is better, right? How about taller? Rumors indicate that the iPhone 5 might sport a 4.06-inch screen with a resolution of 640 x 1136. This means that the phone will be able to display up to five rows of icons, one more than what it currently displays.

8-Pin or 9-Pin? Some sources say that Apple will be switching the iPhone 5 to an 8-pin connector, while others say it's going to be a 9-pin. Still others say that it'll be a 19-pin.

A Nano SIM? All of the iPhones use a micro SIM. But is it about to require an even smaller SIM card? Photos of alleged iPhone 5 parts show a narrower tray for the device's SIM card, giving rise to speculations about the nano SIM.

iPhone 5 Launch. Most fingers point to a September 12th launch, with the device going on sale as early as September 21st. Analysts predict that Apple will be able to sell more than 263 million units of its yet-to-be-announced iPhone 5.

Slimming Down. Some people report that the iPhone 5 will be 1.4mm thinner than the iPhone 4S, which is all thanks to in-cell technology for the touchscreen and a slimmer battery.

NFC and Other Features. The iPhone 4S announcement came and went without mention of NFC compatibility. Some sources claim that we'll finally see it on the iPhone 5, along with a new Passbook app, 3D-rendered maps, and 3G FaceTime that will come with iOS 6.

iPhone 5 Name. So most people are already calling it the iPhone 5, but Apple may pull one over us and decide to call it the New iPhone (which would be pretty stupid, but they did do that with the New iPad, so who knows?)

Stronger and faster. The iPhone 5 will debut with a quad-core processor that might be called the Apple A6. It was reported that the CPU will be the S5L8950X and that the phone will have 1GB of RAM.

The countdown for the iPhone 5 officially begins... NOW!