The next Apple iPhone: smaller, faster and more colourful?

Rumour One: A rainbow of colours

So far iPhone has been distinctly monochrome but there are several pictures have been published online of gold and grey iPhone components. These colours seem unlikely given that Apple stopped production of its gold iPod mini in 2005 due to poor sales but Topeka analyst Brian White has also mentioned multiple colour options, and in January said he believed the phone would come in pink, yellow, blue, white and silver, and black and slate.

Rumour Two: Mini me

With cheaper smartphones coming onto the market, Apple may have to break from its focus on high end products. Accessory manufacturer Tactus published a picture of a less expensive model, which is rumoured to include a 3.5 inch screen and 5MP rear camera. Brian White also supported rumours of the cheaper phone but said it would have a four inch screen. Mr White said the iPhone mini might still be as much as $400 (£260) and "will have a curved back casing made of coloured plastic and will be thicker than the iPhone 5."

Rumour Three: Fingerprint sensors

Ming-Chi Kuo believes a fingerprint sensor will be the next big update for the iPhone 5s, "improving security and usability". The chip would be underneath the home button and could work as a security improvement in place of pass-codes. In April, a supply chain source in Taiwan said the fingerprint sensor was causing delays with the iPhone 5s release but the James Bond technology is exepcted to be a definite feature when the phone is launched.

Rumour Four: Better camera

Mr Kuo has also tipped camera hardware developments in the iPhone 5s such as a 8MP rear-shooting camera, a 1.2MP front camera and smart flash, which will allow the camera to automatically choose between a white or yellow flash.

Rumour Five: Image recognition

Apple's application for a patent on image recognition was published in February, suggesting that iPhones and iPads could do away with pass-codes. The system would work by showing a random picture of one of the owner's contacts and asking for their name either from voice recognition or a touchscreen list.