iPhone
6 price, specs, release date rumors - slim body, big screen
Updated on the 13th of
January 2014, with rumors of two screen sizes
At the end of 2013 we
saw Apple release pretty much every mobile device we'd been expecting, except
for the iPhone 6. While that didn't come out, by seeing theiPad Air, iPad Mini with Retina
Display, iPhone 5s and iOS 7, we at least got a
great glimpse of what the company has been up to and where it will go in the
future.
With the usual rumors
starting to appear, we can start to build up a picture of what we can expect
from the iPhone 6. In this article we're doing exactly that, looking at the
best release date, price and specs information, filtering the rubbish to help
build a clearer picture.
iPHONE 6 SCREEN
The one thing that
everyone seems to be able to agree on is that the iPhone 6 will have a larger
screen than any other iOS smartphone before it. There's a definite market for
large-screen phones, as we've seen with the HTC One, Sony Xperia Zand Samsung Galaxy S4, so it makes sense for Apple to compete on screen size.
The question that has
to be answered is, how big will the screen be? Early rumours suggested that
there would be a 4.8in screen, but more recent rumours have suggested that the iPhone 6 could have a 5in screen.
According to Japanese
tech publication MacFun, the 5in screen will have a Full HD resolution of
1,920x1,080. From a certain point of view this makes a lot of sense, as there
are already a lot of Full HD phones out there. However, we think that the
resolution could be wrong, mostly because of the way that Apple works.
Generally speaking
Apple likes resolutions that scale easily from previous products, so it and
developers know how apps will look on-screen. Full HD doesn't do this from the
existing iPhone or iPads. We think that Apple could quadruple the existing
iPhone 5S's screen resolution, giving an iPhone 6 with a resolution of 2,272x1,280
instead. We've covered why
the iPhone 6 won't have a Full HD screenin more detail.
While Apple has not
previously made a large-screen phone, upping the screen size for the iPhone 6
makes a lot of sense. It means it can compete with the large-screen phones from
other manufacturers and keep the iPhone 5S as a smaller alternative, giving iPhone
users more choice.
iPHONE 6 TWO SCREEN SIZES
Rumours that the iPhone 6 will come in two screen sizes simply won't go away. The most recent
information comes from leaked information from Foxconn executives (unnamed, of
course), reported by BGR.
According to this
information, the iPhone 6 will ship in 4.7in and a phablet-sized 5.7in. This
would be the first time that Apple has launched one mobile product in two
sizes, but the company is apparently ready to make an exception this time
around.
We're not entirely
sure that we believe this one. We know that Apple was reportedly trying
different screen sizes, but trying and releasing are two completely different
things. With all of its existing mobile range, Apple has kept things simple by
having just one screen size; complicating the line-up with two screen sizes
doesn't feel like the kind of thing that the company would do.
Besides, Apple already
has the smaller iPhone 5S, so we'd imagine that this will sit alongside the
iPhone 6 as the smaller handset. We can't completely rule out this rumour, but
given by past form, we'd say that the iPhone 6 available in one screen size
seems more likely.
iPHONE 6 SIZE
ETNews has been reporting that the iPhone 6
will be the slimmest iPhone yet. In fact, at a reported 6mm thick, the iPhone 6
would shave 1.6mm off of the iPhone 5. It would also make the iPhone 6 half the
thickness of the iPhone 3GS.
Making the iPhone
slimmer also raises the question, will it be called the iPhone 6 at all? When
Apple made the iPad slimmer and smaller, it went with iPad Air. Plenty of
people believe that the iPhone 6 could be the iPhone Air instead.
It would make sense in
a way, as Apple could continue to sell the iPhone 5S as the smaller screen
version and have the iPhone Air as the slim, large-screen model
iPHONE 6 RELEASE DATE
The short version is
that nobody really knows when the iPhone 6 is coming out. A lot of guesses have
been made, but they're largely wrong. That said, here's what we can work out
with a bit of logical thinking.
If Apple sticks to its
usually release schedule, the iPhone 6 would follow a year after the iPhone 5S,
which would mean that it would be out September 2014. However, with the iPhone
6 it feels more like something different and complementary, in some ways, to
the iPhone 5S. In fact, we'd say that it was more like an addition to the
line-up than a strict replacement of the iPhone 5S. We kind of see it
replicating what Samsung has with the full-size Galaxy S4 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, with the exception that Apple's small phone,
the 5S, is still really powerful.
If we had to be pushed
on a date, we'd say that early this year, between March and May would make
sense. This would give Apple enough distance from the iPhone 5S, and give it a
chance to take the limelight away from Samsung, which will be looking to
release its Galaxy S5 handset around the same time.
The latest rumours
point to a May 2014 launch of the iPhone 6 as the most likely. According to Digitimes and its supply chain sources, Apple is gearing up for a May
launch of the new iPhone.
It reported that the
new iPhone will use a "20nm processor manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Company (TSMC)", although the sources didn't mention any
other specifications. However, from all of the other rumours out there, we've
managed to cobble together some of the expected specifications, including a
larger screen.
However, the phone may
get released after that and, as we warned, there are many conflicting reports.
First, Investor's Business
Daily has reported on
a market report by Susquehanna Financial Group analyst, Mehdi Hosseini.
In Hosseini's
research, he reported that SanDisk is likely to be one of the prime
beneficiaries of the iPhone 6, supplying flash memory to Apple. The site then
reports that the iPhone is due to be launched in June or July 2014, with
Hosseini reporting, "Although there is no color yet on the iPhone 6 specs,
our recent checks in Taiwan and Korea suggest Apple has already begun
negotiating with its memory suppliers to secure capacities."
iPHONE 6 TOUGHER CONSTRUCTION
Although beautifully
made, the iPhone is just as breakable as any other smartphone, with plenty of
people walking around with cracked screens after a drop. Apple appears to be
working on a solution to this problem, toughening up its products.
A new deal could
signal a super-tough sapphire
screen for the iPhone 6.
According to reports,
Apple has struck a deal with GT Advanced technologies to produce sapphire glass
in a plant in Arizona.
The deal was announced
by GT Advanced Technologies in a regulatory filing. "The sapphire glass
that GT will make in the facility will be used to cover the camera lenses in
Apple's phones and the fingerprint-reading devices in its latest products. GT's
technology also can be used to make scratchproof glass covers for smartphones,
although it is not used for that purpose by Apple today".
Apple is due to pay
$578m, which GT Advanced Technologies will use to buy and operate sapphire
production equipment in a new Arizona facility. GT Advanced Technologies will
pay back the Apple over a five-year period.
While the deal should,
in the short-term, provide Apple with the materials it needs for existing
components, there's a long-term plan, too. As part of the deal, GT Advanced
Technologies will "deliver low cost, high volume manufacturing of sapphire
material" using a large-capacity furnace.
Synthetic sapphire
glass gets its name because it's transparent, although it's not technically
glass. However, sapphire's advantage over glass is its incredible durability
and hardiness. Sapphire has a value of 9 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness,
putting it just behind diamond. This means that it's extremely difficult to
break, resulting in fewer broken iPhones, saving money in repair costs.
As well as looking at
the screen, Apple is also said to be looking at toughening up the case by
investigating liquid metal for the
iPhone 6.
Liquid metal would
encase the iPhone 6 is a super-tough metal, built up layer-by-layer, making it
a lot hardier and more difficult to break. According to new information, Apple
has put in five patents for liquid metal.
One describes how bulk
metallic glasses (BMG, or liquid metal to give it the more familiar name) would
be layered on top of each other to create components. The main focus on this
invention is via 3D printing, allowing Apple to build components and cases from
computer-generated designs.
What's more Patently Apple, which found the information, believes that
Apple has already used liquid metals in the iPhone 5S, suggesting that the
technology is already available. It's clear, then, that Apple is interested in
liquid metal for the iPhone and iPad range, so it's now a matter of when.
For the iPhone 5S
Apple upped the physical size of its 8-megapixel sensor, meaning that each
pixel gets more light. In addition, it upgraded the lens from an f/2.4 model to
an f/2.2 model, increasing low-light performance again. Combined with the A7
SoC, the camera has a couple of neat modes, including a 10fps burst mode that
goes on until the phone's memory is full, and a 120fps slow-motion mode.
It would make sense if
Apple was to use this sensor in the iPhone 6, although, given it's a bigger
phone, with more room inside for components, it could well up the pixel count,
with a 12- or 13-megapixel on the cards.
Apple may also be
considering going in a completely different direction, particularly if a new
patent is to be used. This suggests that the iPhone 6 could get a refocus-able lightfield
camera.
Reported by 9to5Mac, a patent has been granted to Apple for a lightfield camera,
allowing people to refocus their shots after they've been taken.
The technology works
by capturing light fields, rather than a single 2D capture of the moment. The
net result is that a photo is no longer a fixed capture, but one where you can
select a part of the picture to completely refocus the image.
We've already seen the
technology in use with the Lytro Light Field camera. It's an interesting product, using software to let you choose
the point of focus after the image has already been capture. You can see an
example of this in the shot below.
Part of the problem
with the system is that the Lytro camera only took low-resolution photos, which
were no good for printing at a later date. Upping the resolution isn't that
easy and, by the details of the patent, not something that Apple is going to
do. Instead, the patent refers to a high-resolution and low-resolution mode,
with the patent covering a "digital camera system configurable to operate
in a low-resolution refocusable mode and a high-resolution non-refocusable
mode".
From the sounds of
this, the lightfield option would be an option in the camera mode, much as
Slo-Mo is with the iPhone 5S. The Slo-Mo editing tools, which are easy-to-use
and incredibly intuitive, so if Apple can bring the same approach to
lightfield, it could offer a completely different smartphone photography
experience.
The patent contains no
information as to when or if Apple will use the technology, particularly as it
could be hard to slim it down to fit into a smartphone. Still, we can just hope
that it will be ready for use in the iPhone 6.
iPHONE 6 STORAGE
In terms of storage,
64GB has been the top model for a couple of years, and continues to be so for
the iPhone 5S. We're not expecting this to change for the iPhone 6, although we
know that the Apple can make a 128GB model, thanks to the recent launch of a 128GB iPad 4.
The new model doubled
the maximum capacity of the previous high-end iPad (64GB). This update was said
to be about increasing the variety of uses for the tablet, with Apple stating
that more storage was good for large files for use in applications such as CAD
and music production. It's also a more useful amount of storage for photos and
videos.
iPHONE 6 A7 SoC
At the moment, the
Apple A7 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is the main focus for the company. This is the
first 64-bit mobile chip and it's extremely fast. In fact, in our benchmarks on
using the iPhone 5S, we found that the A7 is by far the fastest mobile
processor. Apple has now used the A7 chip in both the iPad Air and iPad Mini
with Retina Display.
Where as in the past
Apple had to tweak the graphics part of the SoC to work on an iPad's screen by
adding quad-core graphics (the latest chip with the A6X), with the A7 this
isn't required. Instead, the A7 is fast enough as it is.
With that in mind we'd
expect to see the same chip used in the iPhone 6. However, the only caveat is
when the phone comes out. If it's early next year then we'd expect the A7 chip
to be used as is; if the release date is closer to the end of next year, then
we could see a tweaked version, perhaps even a quad-core variant.
iPHONE 6 PRICE
Apple typically
releases its new models at the same price as the old ones. If that holds out,
then, and assuming that the 16GB model is dropped, we'd expect the 32GB model
to cost £529, the 64GB model £599 and the 128GB model £699. However, if the
company continues to sell the iPhone 5S, we could be in for some new pricing,
with the iPhone 6 a premium model that sits above it, in which case all bets
are off and we have no idea how much it will be.
If Apple does decide
to make an iPhone with a larger screen, there's also a good chance prices will
increase too. Susquehanna analyst Chris Caso, speaking toAllThingsD, predicted that there could be a $50 to $100 premium for a
larger iPhone 6, compared to the 4in iPhone 5s.
Although this goes
against Apple's tradition of keeping prices the same across generations, it's
not a rule the company is afraid to break every now and then. Last month's iPad
Mini with Retina display launch introduced a $70 premium over the entry level
model, so a price hike isn't out of the question.
RUMOURS WE THINK ARE UNLIKELY
We've covered these
articles in the past, but as time has gone on we no longer think that the
content seems likely for the iPhone 6. In some cases what we covered seems like
it will never happen; in other cases, it's likely the technology will appear at
some point, just not necessarily on the iPhone 6. For completeness, we're
listing all of the information here, with links to the original articles.
Apple working on
larger, curved screens - Curved screens
are popular at the moment, but they're quite hard to make and expensive, so we
think that they'll be used in other products down the line.
Apple integrating Siri
into Photos - Apple has a
patent for integrating voice search and tagging into photos. We believe that it
will implement this technology, but it feels more like an OS update than an
iPhone 6 feature.
Apple has bought the
company behind the Microsoft Kinect - From this it seems clear that gesture is going to be a
big part of what Apple does. However, the company was probably bought too
recently for it to make an impact on the iPhone 6. Look out for this to appear
in other devices instead, for now.
iPHONE 6 PRICE
Apple typically releases its new models at the same price as the old ones. If that holds out, then, and assuming that the 16GB model is dropped, we'd expect the 32GB model to cost £529, the 64GB model £599 and the 128GB model £699. However, if the company continues to sell the iPhone 5S, we could be in for some new pricing, with the iPhone 6 a premium model that sits above it, in which case all bets are off and we have no idea how much it will be.
If Apple does decide to make an iPhone with a larger screen, there's also a good chance prices will increase too. Susquehanna analyst Chris Caso, speaking toAllThingsD, predicted that there could be a $50 to $100 premium for a larger iPhone 6, compared to the 4in iPhone 5s.
Although this goes against Apple's tradition of keeping prices the same across generations, it's not a rule the company is afraid to break every now and then. Last month's iPad Mini with Retina display launch introduced a $70 premium over the entry level model, so a price hike isn't out of the question.
RUMOURS WE THINK ARE UNLIKELY
We've covered these articles in the past, but as time has gone on we no longer think that the content seems likely for the iPhone 6. In some cases what we covered seems like it will never happen; in other cases, it's likely the technology will appear at some point, just not necessarily on the iPhone 6. For completeness, we're listing all of the information here, with links to the original articles.
Apple working on larger, curved screens - Curved screens are popular at the moment, but they're quite hard to make and expensive, so we think that they'll be used in other products down the line.
Apple integrating Siri into Photos - Apple has a patent for integrating voice search and tagging into photos. We believe that it will implement this technology, but it feels more like an OS update than an iPhone 6 feature.
Apple has bought the company behind the Microsoft Kinect - From this it seems clear that gesture is going to be a big part of what Apple does. However, the company was probably bought too recently for it to make an impact on the iPhone 6. Look out for this to appear in other devices instead, for now.
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