Just like previous firmware releases, there are bound to be some who would dig deep within the updater files to see if there’s something new coming. Well, this time around, it seems to have paid off.
MacRumors reported that the next generation iPhone is somewhat confirmed in the latest 2.2.1 firmware that Apple recently released a few days back. This is evidenced by the string “iPhone2,1″ which appeared in one of the updater files.
Looking at Apple’s previous hardware upgrade history, the original iPhone was labeled internally as “iPhone1,1″ – the iPhone 3G was labeled as “iPhone1,2″. Meanwhile little cousins, the iPod touch took a little bit of twist. The original 1st Generation iPod touch was code-named “iPod1,1″ while the much better 2nd Generation was given the code “iPod2,1″. As you can see, the jump in the first number usually indicates a major hardware revision that are more than just some simple storage capacity upgrade. The 2nd Generation iPod touch was upgraded in terms of a built-in speaker, volume controls side button, microphone input and also a much faster processor. Currently, the 2nd Generation iPod touch is the fastest iPhone OS device available.
For your info, Apple also uses the same string-identifier for its Mac hardware. One good example of this is the MacBook Pro upgrade. The original MacBook Pro which used Intel’s Core Duo Processor was tagged simply as “MacBookPro4,1″, while the later revision using Intel’s newer and much beter Core 2 Duo processors were tagged as “MacBookPro5,1″. This indicated an increase in processor speed as well as new architecture changes.
Now, adding more concrete to this mixture is one developer’s finding of actual “iPhone2,1″ hardware in use. This is based on PinchMedia ad serving reports that multiple unique hits from iPhones with the above-mentioned string-identifier has been sighted. We also know that these devices are currently in active use around San Francisco Bay Area – they are connected via both AT&T’s network as well as Wi-Fi.
It is rumored that the new iPhone would be supporting multi-core CPUs as well as multi-core GPUs. Going from single-core to multi-core is a major hardware revision, eh? Also, Phil Schiller once mentioned that the iPhone upgrade cycle occurs around mid-year, could it be announced somewhere before or during (now that Apple’s out of MacWorld Expo) WWDC?
One more thing – will this new iPhone be the iPhone HD? If we are seeing a new iPhone in the pipeline, why not also the iPod touch? iPod touch HD?
January 31st, 2009 at 9:29 am
do you know how much will it cost in malaysia?
January 31st, 2009 at 11:19 am
my guess is it won’t be any cheaper than the Hong Kong model…