+ , compared to presumably due to Apple's first use of what's called "in-cell" display technology, which essentially merges some layers in the LCD display (Most of the rumor focus on this has been on the fact that this lets Apple create a thinner phone; but it should also lead to some enhancements in image quality.);

+ relocating the 3.5mm headphone jack to the bottom of the phone, and introducing a much smaller 9-pin dock connector.

The CPU

For a year at least, much of the rumoring about the iPhone 5 CPU has been over whether Apple would use a quad-core processor. AnandTech has consistently argued, based on past history, that Apple will more likely focus on introducing a smaller version of the existing, Apple-designed (and Samsung-manufactured) A5 chip, currently based on the dual-core ARM A9 architecture.

The current chip uses a 45-nanometer process. But AnandTech noted that Apple introduced a 32-nanometer chip on the latest generation Apple TV and in the 2 models offered for sale after the introduction of the newest iPad. "In the case of the iPad 2,4, we saw a huge increase in battery life as a result of the move to 32nm," according to AnandTech. "Some of the gains in battery life in the iPhone are likely to be offset by higher CPU/GPU clocks, but this is still the most likely approach for Apple this generation."