iPhone 5 set to debut in August: reports

Apple fans may have been disappointed with the  iPhone4S that they may have perceived as lacking new, exciting features when it was released in 2011, but it looks like the iPhone5 would more than meet their expectations when it is released. (See: Apple releases iPhone 4S with new chip) 

Among the many rumours floating around on the web about the new iPhone, are:

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

The move to the bigger screen (although still smaller than the 5-inch screen many prefer), comes on competition from other smartphones, namely Samsung, which has been the company's biggest rival in the smartphone arena.

The Wall Street Journal said Apple and Samsung between them accounted for over half the world's smartphones. Rather, Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones making up 30.6 per cent of the global market in the first quarter which beat Apple's 24.1 per cent market share, which it obtained by shipping 35.1 million iPhones, according to market-research firm Strategy Analytics.

The iPhone's screen, however, would not be quite as big as the one on Samsung's Galaxy S III smartphone, which is due to hit stores in the US this summer with a 4.8-inch screen.