Apple,
recently launched the much awaited iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, and
markets are already rife with rumours and speculations regarding the
specifications of the iPhone 6, which is to be launched sometime
later this year. So here's a low-down of some of the reliable and
some not-so-reliable rumours currently doing the rounds in the
market.
Release
dates
Though
an exact date for the launch of iPhone 6 has not been announced by
Apple, our safest bet would be somewhere in the month of September
2014, since the company has nearly always chosen a special event in
the month of September to launch its previous models. That being
said, there are reports which say, the iPhone 6 might see an early
June launch for the smaller model and a larger phablet sized model
might be released later in the year.
Screen
Size, Home Button and Casing
 |
| Source: C-Tech |
Business
Insider reported earlier, that one of the prototypes of the new
iPhone had a full Retina + IGZO display without a home screen button
and a new form factor. The Retina +IGZO display is supposed to have
1080 Full HD resolution. Chinese analyst Sun Chyang Xu says, the
company will release a 4.7 inch display model as early as June and
bigger 5.7 inch display model later in the year.
Reports
about patents filed by Apple also indicate, they might try to
implement magical morphing technology, which can hide sensors and
cameras, and also flexible wraparound displays. But most likely we'll
get to see them in future variations and not in the upcoming iPhone
6. There's a good possibility that Gesture Controls may be
incorporated too.
If
reports by MacRumours are to be believed, Apple employees have filed
numerous liquidmetal patents. Plus, there's word that the company is
already looking to slim down from the 7.6mm body of 5S. Couple this,
with the leaked images (assuming they're true) of the new iPhone 6
case, we might me looking at the thinnest iPhone chassis yet.
A
report by PhoneArena already states that Apple's manufacturing
partner Foxcomm has successfully developed 100 iPhone prototype units
with sapphire covered display, the site also suggested that sapphire
displays can now go in for volume production. Sapphire coating is
already being used in the iPhone 5S's rear camera and TouchID
sensors. It was also rumoured that Sapphire coating was going to
protect the devices's super-sized screen and also it's full body. If
these rumours do become reality, and with the patents, GT Advanced
Technologies and Foxconn prototypes, we can surely see sapphire and
solar charging in future Apple devices.
Processor
and Storage
In
the Processor side of things, we will mostly see a quad-core A8 or an
enveloped A7 processor, with more power and better battery usage.
Apple is slowly cutting down on the amount of chips being sourced
from Samsung. According to DigiTimes, Taiwan Semiconductor
manufacturing company, STATS chipPAC, Advanced Semiconductor
engineering and Amkor Technology, have all been drafted by Apple for
their processor packaging.
Apple,
like all it's close competitors, is slowly moving to
“system-on-a-chip” (SoC). With the A7 processor in the iPhone 5S,
they had already integrated the TouchID, cache, CPU, GPU and image
processor on the chipset. But still, a lot remains to be added such
as the DRAM and the gyroscope, accelerometer, compass processing,
which are currently dealt with by the M7 motion coprocessor chip.
The
company will mostly integrate the DRAM with the A8 chipset, and have
a M8 motion companion processor, to bring them one step closer to the
whole system being on one single chip.
In
the Storage side of things, there hasn't been a lot of talk in the
market, we expect the standard options of 16GB, 32GB and 64Gb to be
available. But with the latest iPad coming with a 128GB storage,
there's a possibility we might get to see it in the new iPhone 6 too.
A word of caution here for the first-in-line buyers, be prepared to
shell out a fortune for the 128GB model.
Camera
Nearly
all the high-end smartphones are upgrading to 13MP cameras or better,
so there's a small possibility that we might see a 13MP camera on the
iPhone 6 too, which would provide improve image quality and at the
same time consume lesser space.
But
if reports in China Post are to be believed, iPhone might stick to
its 8MP camera with a few upgrades, such as the Optical Image
Stabilization to improve the image quality. Fueling this claim, is a
patent uncovered at US Patent and Trademark office by Apple, for an
Optical Image Stabilization setup and improved auto-focus technology.
This will include, ”voice coil motor actuators” to allow the lens
to move along the optical axis to adjust with movement, which in turn
would help increase auto-focus speed and reduce blurriness in the
image.
Eye
tracking and Motion Sensors
With
Samsung and other mobile device companies heavily investing in
eye-tracking and other motion , Apple isn't left too far behind.
Apple confirmed to CNET, that it had recently acquired PrimeSense,
which is 3D motion sensor company. This potentially means that
Apple's iPhone 6 and future models may well come with eye-tracking
function and other motion and gesture controls inputs.
Software
Improvements
The
new iPhone will most likely see the new iOS 8. Domain experts feel,
iOS 8 might get launched around September or October, just like the
previous iOS versions. In the new OS, we don't expect to see a lot of
visual changes, but we might see changes and integrations with
respect to iBeacons, Passbook, TouchID and a few software
innovations.
NFC
Most
iPhone competitors already support NFC, but Apple has steered clear
of it. With a lot of mobile payments and services expected to use
NFC, many companies have already seen the promise it holds and have
started investing resources into this technology. However Apple has
been quite happy to stay off the band-wagon, and chances are very
slim that we'll get to see NFC technology in the new iPhone 6.
Price
With
the possibility of the 16GB model getting dropped and a newer 128GB
getting launched, we might get to see the these models getting
launched at the same price at which their respective 5S models were
launched, with the 128GB model costing $100 more than the 64GB one.
If in case Apple decides not to reduce the price on the iPhone 5S, we
might have to pay a premium of $100 on each of these model as
compared to their respective predecessors.
Will keep updating this post as and when newer rumours and official announcements are made. Also, do leave your comments below, if in case I've missed out any information currently doing the rounds.
Source: Techradar.com, Knowyourmobile.com
Source: Techradar.com, Knowyourmobile.com
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