It is that time again. Speculations about an iPhone 5 are flying surrounding the upcoming Apple event on September 21st. We proudly present another installment in the sporadic series featuring our best guess on what truths will be left standing once the fog of rumor lifts. 

A major difference between this event and those of the past is the sheer amount of “leaked” information. The web has been awash in pieces of hardware that appear to be final manufacture. We take all this with a substantially critical eye and present our own thoughts on what Apple will present next week, despite the lack of personal invitation from the offices of Mr. Cook.

99% Probability

• Announcement of the iPhone 5
• Public availability of iOS6 within a week
• Taller, Thinner Display on the iPhone 5 - The most notable change in the design of the iPhone 5 will be a re-sized display that will not only allow a 16:9 aspect ratio (the same proportion as a movie screen), but will increase the screen to allow five rows of icons rather than the current four.
• 9-Pin Dock Connector on the iPhone 5 - The iPhone 5 will lead the way for all new mobile devices from Apple. This has been discussed previously on TECHNOGORILLA in the article “MagSafe Redesign Shouldn’t Be Overlooked.“ 

80% Probability

• Redesigned Earbuds
• Long-Term Evolution (LTE) Connectivity - The new iPhone should have LTE connectivity; other companies have borne the brunt of supporting the growing standard, and now it is time for Apple to reap the rewards (It’s happened before, it’ll happen again). The larger question is, “Will LTE connectivity spell disaster for AT&T Mobile?” Verizon Wireless has a much wider LTE base and is regarded as a stronger network overall. Curious? Refer to John Paczkowski’s superb article at All Things D.
• The iPhone5 will be available within two weeks.

70% Probability

• Smaller SIM Card (aka the nano-SIM) - I only fear what this will do to the disastrous record that AT&T Mobile has with iPhone activation at launch.

 55% Probability

• Near-Field Communication - We really, really want this to be true, but to actually make the engineering work is something else entirely. The consensus here was an even 50-50 until the already announced “Passbook” application for the iPhone %5 was added to the mix.

 And one more thing… 

10% Probability

There have been rumors of a smaller iPad and/or an updated iPod (either the Nano or Shuffle, or both). Neither of these will be announced at this event. The rumored October event is another story altogether.