Let’s talk iPhone: the rumor wrapup

Mark Gurman | Oct 5 2011 - 2:36 pm PT

Apple announced a brand new iPhone, some new iPods, and more yesterday. We had a pretty good bead on what was going to happen overall a week before the event. Read our predictions post for a refresher.

But now that the event is over, here’s our rumors post mortem.

What came true:

October 4th Event: The first sighting of ‘October 4th’ occurred when a tipster showed us AT&T’s internal systems’ change for iPhone tiers in June. The date of the change: October 4th. We postulated: AT&T raises iPhone device tier on October 4th, perhaps signaling launch date?

At that point we were far from certain. AllThingsD deserves credit for getting not only the date right but the venue – Apple’s own auditorium.

October 7th pre-orders, 14th sales: We had heard a soft launch for October 7th, just like TiPb, so we worked our way back there assuming a late September announcement.

The name ‘iPhone 4S’: We pegged iPhone 4S as the name as early as April when we broke the news that Apple has seeded a next-generation iPhone to high-level gaming outfits. We also confirmed the name last week with an iTunes finding. If that wasn’t enough, two different website ‘leaks’ happened as Apple took down the website ahead of the event. Contrary to many people’s hopes and dreams, we knew going into the event today that it would only be the iPhone 4S.

The iPhone 4 design: Our April report about a new iPhone being seeded to gaming developers pointed to this new iPhone retaining the iPhone 4 design. A report from BGR detailing a next-generation T-Mobile iPhone in testing also pegged this iPhone 4 design. Additionally, TiPb, Reuters and Bloomberg all later called for the iPhone 4S featuring a design identical to the iPhone 4. We also demonstrated the first evidence for this with iTunes findings.

8 Megapixel Camera: We were actually on hand when Sony CEO Howard Stinger slipped out that they were building a high quality, backlit camera for Apple (later verified by the WSJ). Later on, DIGITIMES said Omnivision and Sony both would be making the sensors. A month ago, an Apple employee snapped a picture with his iPhone 4S. Woops.

A5 Processor: We, like everyone else, knew there would be an A5 processor.

The 64GB iPhone 4S: After a few years without a 64GB iPhone, we were finally able to confirm that Apple would unleash a 64GB varient of the iPhone 4S a few weeks ago. We guessed the prices based on foreign translated currencies, but were off.

Cards: We, like everyone else, passed over Cards app.

Find my Friends: MacRumors found Find my Friends code back in January. Since then, we spotted and detailed the Latitude-ish program. The Next Web took a pretty vague guess yesterday morning that a ‘GPS related product’ would be revealed which is sort of correct.

Siri Assistant: We called the headline feature for the keynote as the Siri Assistant a few times over the last few weeks. Our details about the user interface, exact feature set, and usage examples were spot on. We also reported in July that the feature would soon be launching with a crowd-sourced / beta standing for constant improvement.

Nuance Dictation: After reporting on incoming Nuance Dictation for the new iPhone on several occasions, we presented the first leaked screenshots of the new and handy software feature. Chronic Wire posted the first proof that Nuance is behind the technology.

World phone: We reported in February that Apple has begun placing world phone (CDMA + GSM) chips in their new iPhones. We also discovered references in iTunes which pointed to the 4S being a dual-mode device, and we heard this from sources as well along the road. TechCrunch heard this as well by way of application developer logs.

White iPod touch and new iPod nano: We posted the first photos of white iPod touch parts all the way back in July. MacRumors was able to confirm that a white iPod touch is coming in October and we discovered the three new white models in Apple’s inventory system.

The 8MP camera with better optics: We broke the news that the new iPhone will feature a brand new sensor from Sony, per their CEO’s public comments, and recently confirmed with sources that this new lens would clock in at 8 megapixels. TiPb first reported that the new iPhone will feature an improved optics system, and so did The Next Web. Bloomberg also pinpointed an eight megapixel sensor. We also reported that Apple was working on advanced face detection for iOS 5.

The cheaper iPhone: We confirmed that Apple was set to release an 8GB version of the iPhone 4 (N90A) today following Reuters report about such a device being in production. Gizmodo managed to get a few spy shots of said device from Foxconn’s Brazil-based manufacturing plant.

The $199 iPod touch: We reported that Apple was set to drop the price of the iPod touch to $199 – for the 8GB model – to better compete in a new market with the Kindle Fire.

Sprint support: We reported all the way back in June (and hardly anyone believed us) that a Sprint version of the iPhone 4 for Sprint was in advanced testing stages. This turned out to be correct as the 8GB iPhone 4 is launching soon on Sprint. In addition, we were also told back then that Sprint’s first iPhone would not be 4G, and it is not. The WSJ and Bloomberg both followed up months later claiming that Sprint and Apple signed a deal.

What didn’t come true:

The discontinuation of the iPod classic and iPod shuffle: TUAW reported that their sources said (they also claimed we made up our iPhone 4S findings in iTunes) that Apple would discontinue the iPod classic and iPod shuffle this year. What better day to discontinue those iPods than on their anniversary? With iPod classic supplies still at normal stock levels, and with Apple mentioning the crucial $49 price point of the iPod shuffle at today’s event, this report’s result is extremely unlikely.

Cincinnati Bell to get iPhone 5 with 4 inch screen and 4G: TUAW posted unconfirmed screenshots from a Cincinnati Bell website that claimed the “iPhone 5” would feature a four inch display and would be marketed as 4G device. That carrier didn’t get the new iPhone, there is no iPhone 5, and Apple specifically said they wouldn’t market the new iPhone as being 4G.

New iPhone to be thinner and lighter: The WSJ claimed that Apple’s new iPhone – the 4S – would be both thinner and lighter.

Pricing: Our last minute whisper on the pricing was slightly off after a U.S. conversion; but the international pricing that we had – and didn’t make public – turned out to be completely correct. Only issue here was the currency conversion and fluctuation.

Facebook for iPad debut: Mashable said it was coming at the event

What hasn’t happened yet:

The teardrop iPhone: This ultra-thin iPhone design came about in April with a report from This is my next. Since that report several case makers – including highly regarded ones – produced cases to fit such a design, based on their typically accurate dimension sourcing. Because of the typical reliability surrounding these dimensions, we have a hunch that the 2012 iPhone – said to be a completely new phone – will feature a design similar to this teardrop.

The Sprint iPad: We reported that in addition to the iPhone, Sprint would soon begin carrying the iPad. This has not come true, but we are confident that it is coming soon.

Revamped iPhone with teardrop is a Sprint exclusive: This report from BGR did not come true today, and will most likely never.