Posted on 22 Oct 2013 at 18:19, by David Ludlow
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Following the launch of the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C and iOS 7, we round up all of the iPhone 6 release date, specs, price, news & rumours. Updated on the 4th October, with new release date and screen size information
All eyes are currently on the brand-new Apple launch event, which should see the last products that are going to be released this year. While the iPhone 6 isn't going to be among the list of products, by seeing the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 we'll get a better idea of what Apple's been working on for its iOS devices.
Combined with the information we have from the recently launched iPhone 5s and iOS 7, we should get a better idea of what Apple is planning for its next smartphone, the iPhone 6.
Of everything that we know now, the biggest bit of information is that the iPhone 6 is going to have a larger screen that the iPhone 5S. Although sales of the iPhone are high, the Android competition has all moved to large-screen Full HD models, with the HTC One, Sony Xperia Z and Samsung Galaxy S4, so it makes sense for Apple to compete on screen size.
In this article we're rounding up all of the iPhone 6 rumours. We'll give you all the current information on the release date, price and specs, filtering the information to help work out which rumours sound most likely.
iPHONE 6 RELEASE DATE
Guessing Apple's release dates is a complete and utter nightmare, with practically every prediction wrong. It's clear, given that the iPhone 5S was only released in September, that we're not going to see the iPhone 6 until 2014 now.
Apple usually has products on sale for a year, but the iPhone 6 feels like a different proposition to us. Rather than a replacement for an existing iPhone, it's more of an addition to the line-up. We kind of see it replication 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.
Tim Cook has hinted at new products coming soon autumn launch in a call with investors. "Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services that we can't wait to introduce this fall and throughout 2014," Cook said. As we know now, the products Cook was talking about are being released on the 22nd October and include the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2.
That would seem to be it for 2013, so we're going to have to wait until 2014 for the iPhone 6. However, relatively speaking, it seems fair that we can expect the handset soon, particularly as Apple's Canadian arm has apparently already leaked the iPhone 6. If we had to be pushed on a date, we'd say that early next 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.
iPHONE 6 SCREEN
It's pretty safe to assume that the iPhone 6 is going to have a larger screen size than the existing iPhone 6. Most of the rumours are that the iPhone 6 will have a 4.8in screen (4.5in and 5in screen sizes have also been put forwards), which would make the phone similar in size to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. At this screen size, Apple could then move to a Full HD (1,920x1,080) resolution or even go beyond.
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.
Tim Cook has said, "Some customers value large screen size, others value other factors such as resolution, colour quality, white balance, brightness, reflectivity, screen longevity, power consumption, portability, compatibility with apps and many things. Our competitors had made some significant trade-offs in many of these areas in order to ship a larger display. We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these trade-offs exist."
What that statement says, to us, is that Apple won't ship a large-screen iPhone until it's managed to iron out all of the trade-offs. A thinner screen, to make a lighter phone, could well be the right way to go, then.
It's no wonder, then, that Apple may also be considering the screen technology that it uses, with a Sharp IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) screen top of the list. This new technology allows for screens that use less power and are considerably thinner. Rumours certainly picked up when the Sharp IGZO technology was demonstrated at CES 2013.
iPHONE 6 GAZE DETECTION
A bigger screen requires more power, so any technology that can increase battery life has to be good. For the iPhone 6 Apple could be about to revisit gaze detection technology, where the phone can tell if you're looking at the screen or not. If you were to look away, the phone could pause a video playing and turn the screen off. PatentlyApple has dug up the full information on how the technology is likely to work.
Given that Samsung has similar technology in its Galaxy S4 smartphone, we'd say there's a high chance that Apple will follow suit and implement its own version.
iPHONE 6 iOS 7
We already have iOS 7, so it makes sense that this operating system will be used for the iPhone 6. It's possible, given that the iPhone 5S has features specific to it, that the OS will be updated to introduce new features with the new handset. For example, it could enable NFC is Apple decides that it wants the technology to use for mobile payments; we wouldn't bet on it, though, as it seems steadfastly against it.
iOS 7 was released with the iPhone 5S, but a tweaked version could come to the iPhone 6
iPHONE 6 CAMERA
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.
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 TOUCH ID
Touch ID, the fingerprint reader, was the one of the big talking points for the iPhone 5S. Recent rumours suggest that Touch ID will also come to the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, so we'd really expect it on the iPhone 6.
Touch ID works brilliant and encourages people to be more secure, as using it requires a passcode to be set. At the moment, Touch ID can only be used to unlock the iPhone and to authorise iTunes and App Store payments, but it would make sense for Apple to be thinking about new applications for the technology. We can easily see a future where banking apps, for example, are authenticated through the phone.
For the technology really to be taken seriously, we'd expect to see it in as many mobile devices as possible, which obviously includes the iPhone 6. The only real question is, will we see Touch ID open up any new features? If Apple was to include a NFC chip, then Touch ID could be used to authenticate payments. We're not necessarily expecting NFC, though, as Apple has so far been dead set against including it.
iPHONE 6 A7 SoC
Apple has just released the A7 SoC chip for its iPhone 5S, which is proving to be very fast. It's got some great custom features, too, including the Image Signal Processor for the camera, which lets the iPhone 5S shoot fast bursts and slow motion video. Given that this 64-bit chip is brand-new, we can't see Apple completely changing it for the iPhone 6.
Instead, we may get an upgraded version for the iPhone 6. This could include more cores, perhaps moving from dual-core to quad-core, and perhaps a faster graphics core, similar to how the current iPad has an A6X processor, which is the iPhone version with quad-core graphics.
Leaked shots, before it was released, of the iPhone 5S correctly showed that it had a brand-new processor, the A7.
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.
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