Adding heavy weight to the rumors that Apple plans to release more than one new iPhone model this year, former Vice President Al Gore, a member of Apple’s board of directors, said today that Apple has “new iPhones” due for an October release, reports The Next Web. Gore’s statement, which confirms long-standing rumors of multiple iPhone models set to come out this year, was made today during the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit (DILS) in South Africa.
More notably known for his political career as well as his environment-related activities, former Vice President Al Gore is also an Apple board member. Therefore he should have some knowledge of at least some of the future plans of the company, including the launch of the upcoming iPhone 5.
In fact Gore has apparently confirmed during the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit that Apple will launch new iPhones next month. The plural of the word “iPhone” has been used according to those attending the conference, but Gore did not specify any details about any of these new iPhone 5 models:
We’ve been informed by Toby Shapshak, the editor of Stuff Magazine in South Africa that is attending the conference, that his quote was specifically: “Not to mention the new iPhones coming out next month. That was a plug.”
Yes, it’s completely true that Apple has been saying that it will release iOS 5 and, presumably, new hardware to go along with it, this fall. But this is the first time that anyone with ties to the Apple organization, even if it is just a Board Member, has made any affirmative statements about the release of its next-gen iPhone.
The iPhone 5, on the other hand, will serve as Apple’s high-end offering. That device will likely be a dual-mode “world phone,” which works on either GSM or CDMA networks. It is also said to have a faster processor, possibly a dual-core A5, as well as an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, up from the iPhone 4′s 5MP camera. Evidence shows that the screen of the iPhone 5 will be significantly larger than previous models, possibly up to 4 inches, and extend from edge to edge.
