Report confirms Apple will be using nano SIMs on the iPhone 5

The major topic of discussion about the upcoming iPhone is the standard of SIM card that will be used with the handset. Apple, in the recent past has been pushing for a new standard of SIM cards called 'nano SIM' to be passed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Since the brand won the appeal for this new standard, it had been widely perceived that Apple would use nano SIM cards on the iPhone 5, their flagship handset set to debut this year. As per a report by BGR, sources from within multiple network carriers have informed that Apple has supplied nano SIM adaptors to carriers to test the usability of this new standard of SIM cards.

Nano SIM cards to be used on the next iPhone (Image credit)

The report states, “It’s been rumored that the new iPhone will feature an even smaller SIM card than what’s used now, and we can confirm that the new iPhone will feature these tiny SIM cards called nano-SIMs. Multiple carrier sources have exclusively told BGR that Apple is supplying nano-SIM adapters so its carrier partners can test how nano-SIMs work on their networks in standard test devices before they are widely deployed when the new iPhone is introduced.” The report mentions that AT&T is one of the carriers that are testing these new SIM cards.

For those interested in what else lies in the next iPhone, BGR has also confirmed that it will come equipped with 1GB of RAM, NFC as well as 4G LTE connectivity. They state, “We have confirmation that the units Apple is currently testing have 1GB of RAM, doubled from the iPhone 4S’s 512MB, and integrated 4G LTE radios. We can also confirm that NFC hardware is present in the phones as well.”

While this comes as some great news for those looking to purchase the next generation device, one of the main highlighted features can also lie within the fact that it may feature a completely new design as opposed to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Prior to the launch of the iPhone 4S, it was widely expected that Apple would launch a redesigned iPhone and there was a case leak as well that supported the claim. However, a report that surfaced early this year which claimed that Apple shelved these plans to launch a redesigned iPhone with 4G connections due to the problematic connection of Verizon’s 4G LTE networks which caused the delay.

As for the design of the upcoming iPhone, there have been several casing leaks which suggest that Apple would implement a larger display on the iPhone 5. The display that is believed to be featured on the next iPhone is believed to measure 4 inches diagonally but will feature the same width as the current generation iPhones. This would give it a screen resolution of 1136 x 640. Other major changes include the relocation of the headphone jack from the top to the bottom, the redesigned speaker grille and the connector dock. If these leaked images are in fact the back and front plates of the iPhone 5, we can expect the front facing FaceTime camera to be moved above the earpiece to a centralized position rather than to the side, unlike the camera on the iPhone 4 and 4S.