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The Apple iPhone 6 – which is what everyone is assuming Apple’s next iPhone will be called – has had no official confirmation, but that won’t stop it being the most wanted gadget on the planet.
Apple makes a point of not giving away a single drop of info prior to launching products – which tends to further prod the rumour dragon, which periodically belches out potential fiery clues as to what the next gizmo will be. If you’ll pardon the unpleasant imagery.
Now, some of these turn out to be duff leads of course – but often, as was with the iPhone 5, a lot of the technical specifications do end up leaking ahead of the launch. So those eager to find out what Apple has up its sleeve for the iPhone 6 may well find the answer in the glut of speculation and technical clues fluttering around the web.
The iPhone 6 isn’t to be confused with the iPhone 5S – which again is a totally unconfirmed smartphone, and which solidify the rumblings that perhaps Apple will make a cheaper iPhone. This may also be called the iPod Nano. Or quite possibly it never has or will exist – but hey ho, that’s the fuzzy world of tech rumours.
We’ve gathered together what we think are the most likely iPhone 6 rumours, and we’ll keep this updated as more clues emerge.
iPhone 6 release date September 10th?
Apple has already held an event showing off its next mobile operating system iOS 7, featuring a brand new look and a bunch of new features. The release date has been set for the fall (that’s Autumn for UK readers), and as several nose tappers have pointed out it would seem to make logical sense for this to emerge alongside the iPhone 6.
Unfortunately ‘fall’ is a fairly vague term, occupying a quarter of the annual calendar as it does.
Rumours of a more specific date – September 10th – are growing momentum.
This is largely based on past Apple launch schedules which is a fair enough extrapolation – though we won’t know anything concrete until Apple sends out one of its cryptic invites to the press. And even then, we won’t know exactly what the event is in aid of until Tim Cook pops out out on stage.
Of course, this could be in relation to the iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5C, or any other combination of speculative reasoning.
iPhone 6 specs
It’s worth pointing out when pouring over tech specs for gadgets, despite their huge popularity Apple iPhones are often not the most advanced on the market when it comes to hardware, often surpassed by Samsung’s Galaxy S range, to name one.
That said, a number or rumours surrounding what components will make up the iPhone 6 have been doing the rounds.
A quad core processor is widely expected in order to keep up with the competition – some versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 have eight cores.
Some musings put the specific processor at 1.2GHz, alongside 2GB of RAM. But
You could even see some of the powerful iPad hardware, like the graphics components, turning up in the iPhone 6.
Usually iPhones come in 16, 32 and 64 GB versions – however the last iPad had a 128GB version, which could be replicated in the iPhone 6.
In terms of connectivity, 4G LTE seems inevitable.
iPhone 6 infinite screen and Retina 2
One theory that has been doing the rounds is a ‘wraparound’ or ‘infinate screen’ – in which every surface of the phone is a touchscreen.
Straight off the bat we can see a certain amount of logistical problems with this, e.g. sending a garbled message on Twitter with your palm as you try to read your emails on the front. But, you know, people used to scoff at touchscreens in any capacity.
Here’s an example of iPhone 6 wraparound concept on Dribble.
Other concepts involve an edge to edge Retina 2 screen – as can be seen in these great looking, remarkably detailed, but ultimately entirely speculative, designs.
It also states an all new aluminium carbon giber unibody enclosure may feature, which would be 40 per cent lighter and 60 per cent stronger.
It might also have Siri updates, shortcut swipes and host of other features. Well – predictions on this level of scale might be the very definition of a long shot – but they do look amazing.
The appearance of a fingerprint sensor has been buzzing since Apple acquired AuthenTec last yet, which specialises in that sort of thing.
iPhone 6 casing
There is talk of the iPhone 6 (or iPhone 5S) coming in different colours this time round, breaking with iPhone design traditions. Perhaps in line with the iPod Nano range, which come in a variety of colours.
We’d say this is veering towards the less likely end of the rumour scale, but you never know. Nokia seemed to push the coloured chassis as a leading USP of its recent 920 and 820 smartphones, so perhaps Apple took note.
Some rumours even point the phone have a translucent case – which we’d place even further towards the less likely end.
Image courtesy of Macworld.
