French carrier makes reference to an ‘iPhone 5’

By Molly McHugh August 15, 2011

We know Apple is going to be releasing some manner of phone in the relatively near future, but what that device will be called is still up in the air. There’s the more obvious iPhone 5, but names like the iPhone 4S, mini-iPhone, iCloud iPhone, and iPhone nano have also made the rounds, which has led to more speculation over what exactly is going to be released: Are we going to see a fully-featured, next-gen iPhone handset or some simplified, inexpensive version?

French mobile carrier Orange may have given us an answer. A job listing on its site for a mobile multimedia analyst specifically mentions that the position would include determining how the iPhone 5 would impact consumers Internet use. The listing remains but the iPhone 5 note has since been removed. Orange is Apple’s official French mobile carrier partner, and the network likely realized the slip up or was pressured to pull the phrase. Apple’s partners are not allowed to talk about specific devices before an official launch, so Orange’s quick move to rid the site of any iPhone 5 mentions makes us think it might have been more than just an off-hand referral to whatever iOS is bringing to the plate this fall.

There’s a possibility that Orange is in the dark as much as we are and has begun referring to the next iPhone as the iPhone 5 because… well, it’s easiest. But given that it’s Apple’s French partner and how quickly it pulled any mention of “iPhone 5” from its site, the iPhone 5 moniker might be at least one aspect of the next handset we can count on.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…

Mobile

The iPhone’s new AI features may come with a gigantic catch

An iPhone 15 Pro Max laying face-down outside, showing the Natural Titanium color.

Imagine paying a minimum of $999 for a new iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, only to discover that it can’t run the full iOS 18 experience in less than two years. It might sound dystopian, especially for a product known for its long shelf life that's largely the result of an industry-leading software update policy at Apple.

Yet, it seems that nightmarish surprise will be here in just over a week. Bloomberg recently reported on some crucial AI-driven features coming to iOS 18, with Siri being one of the main recipients of all that innovation. But iPhone users might have to pay a pretty price for it all.

Mobile

Here’s how iOS 18 could change the way you use your iPhone

The lock screen on the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

It seems the long-overdue Siri overhaul will finally arrive at WWDC in just over a week from now, and the digital assistant will embrace AI trickery in all its forms. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s planned upgrades for Siri will deeply integrate with on-device functions at the OS level and with the installed apps, too.

“The new system will allow Siri to take command of all the features within apps for the first time,” the report says. The most notable capability is that Siri will only require voice prompts to interact with apps, thanks to a major change in the AI architecture powering it and putting large language models in command, just the way Gemini or ChatGPT draw their own skills from such models.

Mobile

iOS 18 may give Siri the upgrade we’ve been waiting for

Hey Siri

Apple isn’t immune from the AI craze sweeping the rest of the industry. Following the likes of Google with Gemini Nano, Apple is set to roll out AI upgrades to the iPhone with iOS 18. Code-named “Project Graymatter,” the iOS 18 update will bring a variety of AI-powered enhancements to the iPhone and Siri in particular.

According to AppleInsider, the features are being tested in advance of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and one of the biggest is called “Graymatter Catch Up.” The feature is tied to Siri, Apple’s voice assistant, which will now allow users to request and receive an AI overview of the most recent notifications.