5 Surprises to Watch For at the iPhone 5 Event

In just a few minutes, Apple is expected to announce the next iPhone, now believed to be called the iPhone 5, at an event taking place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. And while we have a pretty good idea about what to expect from Apple and the iPhone 5, we may see a surprise or two take place at the event.

At this point, we believe that we have the iPhone 5, its release date and its features nailed down. The iPhone 5 is expected to have a 4-inch display with 16:9 aspect ratio, a metal back, a slimmer but taller design, a new HD front-facing camera, a new small dock connector and of course, iOS 6.

We’ve also heard it could feature an upgraded processor and 4G LTE data connectivity which will allow it to pull down super fast data speeds when on-the-go.

Read: 5 Things We Know About the iPhone 5 Event.

The iPhone 5 is expected to launch today with a pre-order either starting today or on September 14th and we’ve heard that the device will be released on September 21st.

These are the things that we will likely see announced at today’s iPhone 5 event. However, Apple has a penchant for keeping a surprise or two up its sleeve and we very well could see one or two today. Here are five possibilities.

Absurd Battery Life

With the iPhone 5 rumored to have 4G LTE, Apple may look to set a standard with ridiculous battery life for the iPhone 5. Many 4G LTE devices suffer from poor battery life due to the network’s strain. And if there is one thing that held back Apple from releasing an iPhone 5, it was because it wanted to ensure quality battery life from a 4G LTE iPhone.

With the new iPad, it was able to keep the battery life virtually the same between the 4G LTE and Wi-Fi models and maybe it does the same with the iPhone.

Or maybe, just maybe Apple saw how well-received the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX and its 3,300 were and decides to up the ante.

NFC

Whether or not the iPhone 5 has Near-Field Communication has been a back and forth argument over the past several months with several leaks taking both sides.

The current rumors say that the iPhone 5 does not have an NFC chip on board.

However, with most smartphones coming out with NFC and with Passbook, a feature that could truly benefit from NFC, coming with the release of iOS 6, it’s possible that Apple could surprise with an NFC-supported iPhone 5.

Unique iOS 6 Feature

Last year, Apple managed to keep Siri, the iPhone 4S’ virtual personal assistant, under wraps until the launch of the iPhone 4S. And it’s certainly possible that Apple has done the same with the iPhone 5 and iOS 6.

At this point, we’re unsure of what Apple might include. We’ve seen one rumor suggesting that the iPhone 5 may pair with the iPad & iPod for calls and texts in iOS 6. And while we haven’t heard much more or seen anything pop up in the iOS 6 beta, consumers should still be on the look out for a possible game changing software feature that may be unique to the iPhone 5.

PureView-like Camera

With the announcement of the Windows Phone 8 powered Lumia 920 and its PureView camera, Nokia and Microsoft raised the bar in terms of the rear camera on a smartphone. The iPhone 4S camera is still one of the best, even now, but Apple may try and keep pace with a more powerful rear camera on the iPhone 5.

Thus far we haven’t seen any rumors suggesting that this will happen but they don’t call them surprises for nothing.

Wireless Charging

In addition to the PureView camera, the Lumia 920 will also feature wireless charging thanks to the Qi wireless charging standard. And it’s possible that Apple may do something similar with the iPhone 5.

Read: Can the Lumia 920 Kick Start the Wireless Charging Trend?

https://youtu.be/HqpOIHm4VBI

Wireless charging has been a desired feature amongst iPhone 5 owners for years and now that the competition has started using the technology, it may be time for Apple to offer it to its iPhone customers.