It seems Kotaku has caught wind of several announcements that may drop at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference next week. The first is that a new version of the iPhone will be announced, and that it will be releasing sometime in mid-July. The reason this is relevant to us is because of what the new model may be packing under the hood.

The biggest improvement is that it may be sporting an integrated 3D graphics chip to handle better graphics. It’s said to also operate on a higher-speed network. This means that it might be easier for developers to integrate some form of online multiplayer in their games. Who knows, maybe it could even lead to some iPhone MMOs popping up. If nothing else, I guess it would reduce the time it takes to download games from the app store. Increased Bluetooth support is also said to be in the cards, which means iPhone owners could make use of 3rd party controllers that contain actual buttons. Also, shark guns.

And finally, it seems Apple may be hiring its own group of in-house developers. No idea on who this mystery talent might be, or what projects they may be working on, but I guess we can wait a few days to find out.

Assuming these rumors are legit, what do you think of Apple showing more and more interest in the portable gaming market? Are they becomming a force that Nintendo and Sony should start taking more seriously?

[Via Casual Gaming]