Get your lawn chairs and sleeping bags ready. The newest whispers from the iPhone rumor mill claim that the next generation of the smartphone is only a month away. According to multiple sources, Apple retail store employees were told to black out vacation days from Sept. 21 (when the phone presumably goes on sale) to mid-October, which usually only happens following a big unveiling. Although a flurry of reports have said the handset will have a larger screen, faster connection speeds, and a suite of other features, some are already saying Apple's flagship device is destined to disappoint unless Apple reveals something radically different. Will potential users be let down if the next iPhone isn't a huge evolutionary leap from the iPhone 4S?
Yes. The iPhone is already lagging behind Android: "Apple is playing a major game of catch up right now," says Jesse Sopher at iDigitalTimes. The rumored iPad Mini is "clearly a response to Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7." And the next iPhone will feel similarly behind the curve. For starters, new reports say it will be a battery hog. And that rumored larger screen? Android already has several models that easily outclass the iPhone's display size. "The most we can expect from the iPhone 5 is that it'll be on par with the latest Android devices," and in a few months, Samsung will release a sparkly new model that'll make even the most dedicated Apple fan feel a "twinge of envy."
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