The iPhone5 Is Almost Here, And It’s Going To Be Big

The iPhone4S may have disappointed some Apple fans with what they perceived as a lack of new, exciting features when it was released in 2011, but it looks like the iPhone5 is going to be bigger, in more ways than one.

We took a look at the multitude of rumors swirling around the web about the new iPhone, and here is the low down:

The smartphone is expected to hit stores in October, and according to reports, Apple has been ordering 4-inch screens - or larger for the new device. Since it made its debut in 2007, the iPhone has had a 3.5-inch screen.

The move to the bigger screen (although still smaller than the 5-inch screen many would like to see), is driven by competition from other smartphones, namely Samsung, which is Apple’s biggest rival in the smartphone arena.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the two companies together account for more than half the world's smartphones. In fact, Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones equaling 30.6% of the global market in the first quarter - beating Apple's 24.1% market share, which it obtained by shipping 35.1 million iPhones, according to market-research firm Strategy Analytics.

Still, the iPhone’s screen won’t be as big as the one on Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone, which will hit stores in the U.S. this summer and will have a 4.8-inch screen.

But there are rumored to be other changes in the pipeline: these include a smaller version of its 30-pin dock connector, according to iMore, a home button that will apparently be available in both black and white, and a quad-core processor.

Apple has been busily testing an iPhone which incorporates Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which enables users to make payments by simply waving the phone near devices which can read the information embedded in the phone.

There are still a number of points about the phone’s design that are undecided, including what materials will make up the handset’s shell, as well as finer points about the model’s display.

It also is not yet known whether the aspect ratio of the phone will stay the same, but at any rate, full production on the phones is expected to start in June.

Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio