omorrow is a big day for Apple fans around the world, it's also a big day for Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook is expected to introduce the next generation iPhone. Apple's first high-profile announcement since WWDC and Cook's first as CEO.
Cook is highly regarded as an expert in operations and supply chain management. He is given credit as the man who secured an ample and inexpensive supply of internal components for the iPod, iPhone and iPad.
Tomorrow will be a test of whether he can move beyond that role and deliver a dynamic and exciting keynote. Cook will likely be joined by Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall, but Steve Jobs is not expected to make an appearance. Nervousness aside, Cook should do a fine job introducing one of the most highly anticipated products of 2011.Though not nearly as recognizable as Jobs, Cook, formerly Apple's chief operating officer, has been running Apple since January. For years, he has been in charge of Apple's day-to-day operations, and he has long been seen as the natural successor. He also served as Apple's leader for two months in 2004 while Jobs battled cancer and again for five-and-a-half months in 2009 when Jobs received a liver transplant.
Perhaps more important to Apple fans than who is presenting is what the company will reveal on Tuesday. A new iPhone is expected to have a number of changes, the biggest of which will likely be under the hood: the inclusion of Apple's latest iOS mobile software, iOS 5, which has been slated for release this fall.
IOS 5 will include things such as wireless device setup and content synching and beefed-up camera, e-mail and Web browsing apps. A new service called iMessage will allow iOS 5 users to send text messages to each other over Wi-Fi or wireless carriers' data networks, while a folder called Newsstand will corral newspaper and magazine app subscriptions in one place to make it easier to find them. When it comes out, the software will also be available for Apple's iPad, iPhone 4 and 3GS and the two most recent generations of the iPod Touch.
A new iPhone is also expected to include Apple's forthcoming iCloud service, which will store content such as music, documents, apps and photos on Apple's servers and let you access them wirelessly on numerous devices.
As for hardware, a new iPhone isn't expected to look that much different from the iPhone 4, though it could be thinner and have a bigger screen. The existing iPhone is 0.37 inches thick and has a display measuring 3.5 inches at the diagonal.
An improved camera is anticipated, too. The existing iPhone has a 5-megapixel camera on its rear. A number of recently released smartphones have moved to 8-megapixel cameras.
One of the most notable hardware changes many industry watchers are predicting is the inclusion of a more powerful chip: Apple's dual-core A5 processor, which is the same chip it uses in its current iPad. The iPhone 4 runs on Apple's older A4 chip, and the move to a more capable chip should improve things such as multitasking, opening apps and gaming.
Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said a more powerful chip would be key for getting a feature like voice recognition on the iPhone, which is common on phones running Google Android software. Longtime Apple analyst Tim Bajarin said he wouldn't be surprised to see voice recognition either.
Despite speculation that Apple may show more than one new iPhone on Tuesday, Wu is skeptical. He thinks that in addition to a single new iPhone the company is likely to start selling a version of the existing iPhone 4 with less memory for $99. That would be $100 less than what you'd currently pay to get the cheapest iPhone 4 from one of its two U.S. wireless carriers, AT&T or Verizon Wireless, with a two-year contract.
Analysts also believe Apple could also use the event to trot out new iPods and updates to its iTunes music software, which it usually does in the fall anyway. Last September, Apple announced updates to iTunes and a line of revamped iPods, which included a version of the iPod Nano with a touch screen.
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