Why You Shouldn’t Care About Apple’s Next iPhone Release

Time to break the iPhone 4S speculation habit. Image via Wikipedia

Rumors and speculation are to reporters what tar heroin and cheap wine are to dude who lives in the alley behind your local 7-11. They’re kind of depraved, but it’s what we’re all about.

So I’m not about to turn up my snout at a truly hot tip. If someone hands me the next iPhone, or the girl who makes Steve Jobs’ smoothies calls me to tell me something, I’m interested.

Neither will happen, however. That’s why these are the last words I’m going to write about the next iPhone until we find out the damn thing is going to be unveiled.

Of course, I’m sure it will be a fine phone. Consumer Reports will rate it highly. A lot of people will buy one. I might, too. As a story, however, I just don’t care about it anymore.

Neither should you.

The problem: the same rumors have been circulating for months. Bloomberg might confirm a detail here or there (good for them), but the story has remained the same.

The next iPhone will have the iPad’s A5 processor. It will have an 8 MP camera. It will have a similar design to the iPhone 4. It will be called the iPhone 4S or the iPhone 5. It will arrive in September. It will be built around Apple’s iOS 5. Maybe there  will be two of them!

Who cares. The 4G communications chips Apple will need to do something truly crazy won’t be here in time for it (or them, whatever) (see “For The Last Time: There Won’t Be A 4G iPhone This Year”).

Apple has said publicly that today’s 4G baseband chips don’t meet its needs. Analysts say next generation 4G baseband chips — which connect smart phones to wireless networks — won’t be ready until early next year.

Those chips are the real story, which makes the handset after the next one the real story, which means I’m adding even less value than usual by trafficking in rumors and speculation about Apple’s next phone. So I’m going to stop.

Between now and… whenever Apple invites the press to a big event where there’s reasonable cause to believe the next iPhone will be unveiled, I don’t care about Apple’s next phone. And if you hear anything about it from me, call me out on it.

Instead, I’m going to try to spend my time finding out about the phone after Apple’s next one.

I may not find out much, but there is much to be found out.

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