Apple’s next iPhone said to have LTE, same size or slightly larger screen, arrive in fall

Apple’s next iPhone will likely have LTE 4G connectivity, a 3.5″ or slightly larger screen and will arrive in Fall of 2012, reports iMore. The site has a history of accurate rumors including the announcement of the new iPad and the fact that it would also have LTE technology.

iMore’s Rene Ritchie says that the site’s sources have informed it that the new iPhone will have a smaller dock connector, a possibility that it has mentioned previously. Ritchie tallies up the information this way:

So to sum up, iPhone 5,1 is on track for:

• Similar if not same sized screen (currently 3.5-inch but not set in stone)
• 4G LTE radio
• New “micro dock” connector
• Fall/October 2012 release

We find all of these rumors to be extremely likely, aside from perhaps the revamped dock connector. Not to say that Apple won’t do it at some point, just that we haven’t seen any evidence of this ourselves. The 4G LTE possibility is incredibly likely at this point. We examined the latest iPad’s LTE and battery capabilities in detail recently and decided that it was well within Apple’s grasp to maintain battery life and include the higher speed chips in its next iPhone.

The size of the next iPhone’s screen has been a constant source of debate, but nothing more than around 4″ appears likely, given that a change in resolution would break every app on the App Store and increasing the physical size of the device too much would lower the PPI below Apple’s ‘Retina’ standards.

The fall release seems like a foregone conclusion at this point, unless we see a preview of Apple’s iOS 6 software in the next few weeks. If its previewed at WWDC instead, as it was last year, that puts the release of an iPhone solidly into the Fall slot that it usurped from the iPod touch.

Still no rumors around what is likely to be the most sought after change: a redesigned exterior shell.