Apple's preparing to launch their iPhone 3G S in the US with a cut-back in current iPhone stock. And, following on reports that Apple's placed a 10 million unit-strong order for iPhones (presumably 3G versions) with Taiwan-based Hon Hai (Foxconn), we're hearing that the iPhone 3G S will indeed launch at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in June.
The Apple WWDC is 63 days away and falls in line with speculation that the iPhone will launch in June and reiterates other rumors that point to the iPhone 3G S launching at the WWDC conference. TGDaily has it from "industry sources" that the iPhone 3G S will indeed be debuted at WWDC and will be offered in 8GB ($399), 16GB ($499) and possibly a monster 32GB ($599) variant. The launch of 8GB and 16GB iPhone 3G Ss is quite solid, however, the 32GB iPhone 3G S is an unconfirmed rumor.
Apple is apparently going to shave an impressive 2.5mm off the current iPhone's case thickness, giving the iPhone 3G S a slim-advantage (literally) over the current iPhone. The casing material will also be revised, resulting in a more "high-end" and less "plasticy" feel. Unfortunately, the battery will remain a sealed unit and there will be no major revisions to the iPhone UI.
We already know with reasonable confidence that the iPhone 3G S will sport an Infineon-based S-GOLD3H 3G chip that will enable HSDPA speeds up to 7.2Mbps (not in the US, sorry). And now we can expect the iPhone 3G S to sport an even slimmer casing, more high-end materials, and possibly even a 32GB variant. No mention of whether the iPhone 3G S will sport a front-facing video-call camera that is supported by the Infineon S-GOLD3H 3G chip and speculated by Kevin Rose.
We'll just have to keep waiting until Apple decides to drop the iPhone 3G S-bomb on the whole world. Although, it is quite peculiar that we're getting all these leaks recently out of the once tight-lipped Apple.
[Update]
In addition to the 3G HSDPA plans unveiled by the new iPhone SDK beta, closer examination into the SDK code has revealed a couple new interesting nuggets of information. Within the iPhone SDK code lies references to "HeadsetBT", "HeadphonesBT", and "RoleA2DP" - indicating that the next-generation iPhone 3G S or the iPhone v2.0 OS firmware update could enable the much awaited Stereo Bluetooth A2DP feature. There also seems to be support for streaming Bluetooth music to a mono Bluetooth headset. The mention of "RoleGPS" also hints at GPS navigation support for either the next version of the iPhone OS or the iPhone 3G S. We'll have to wait and see - here's to hoping that A2DP Bluetooth and GPS are in store for the iPhone 3G S…
