iPhone 5S Rumored Features: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

The iPhone 5S, Apple’s rumored follow up to the iPhone 5, may be released as soon as July 2013, according to recent reports. But, what features will the Apple flagship device have? No one knows, but we can make some very educated guesses at this point, thanks to the number of leaks and reports circulating across the Interwebs. Here’s what the iPhone 5S might have in terms of features.

1. Improved Security

Usually, the “S” in a iPhone S device stands for something. In the iPhone 3GS, the S stood for Speed. In the iPhone 4S, the S stood for Siri, Apple’s innovative voice-activated personal assistant. In the iPhone 5S, I’m guessing the S stands for Security. Apple’s been in a lot of hot water recently over security issues about the iPhone. NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg actually said that iPhone thefts were the reason the NYC crime rate rose in 2012. It seems like others, including analysts, agree; Business Insider notes that Topeka analyst Brian White agrees and thinks the S in the iPhone 5S will be security related.

2. Fingerprint Scanner

The focal point of Apple’s increased security will be a fingerprint scanner, according to White. It makes sense — last year, Apple acquired AuthenTec, a fingerprint security company, for $356 million. Not much money for a company with $117 billion in cash reserves, but still quite an acquisition. Many suspected that fingerprint scanning technology would be introduced with the iPhone 5, but that didn’t happen. With iPhone security criticism reaching an all-time high, the iPhone 5S would be the be perfect device to introduce a fingerprint scanner.

3. NFC

NFC, or Near Field Communications, is the crux of mobile payment. While other devices, namely Android smartphones, have implemented the technology, the iPhone still hasn’t. NFC was a hot rumor back in the summer of 2012, when iPhone 5 news was leaking left and right, but it turned out that Apple decided against including an NFC chip in the iPhone 5. It will be almost a necessity in the iPhone 5S though, because Apple can’t afford to fall behind the competition in the mobile payments arena. In addition, Apple could help mobile payment technology take off; as you can see with tablets, Apple has the unique ability of taking an existing product and making it popular for the masses.

4. Bigger Screen Size

A bigger screen size is something thats a possibility, but not a distinct one. It’s more likely we’ll see a small screen adjustment, maybe increasing it a few fractions of an inch. However, if Apple does choose to increase the screen size for the iPhone 5S, it could help them compete with competitors like Samsung, that keep releasing bigger and bigger devices.

5. Updated Internal Specs

It’s almost a guarantee that Apple will boost up the internal specs of the iPhone 5S, making it faster and more powerful than the iPhone 5. Every new phone Apple has produced has been more powerful, faster, and better than its predecessor. The iPhone 5S will probably have a better camera, an A7 processor, and probably slightly thinner.