Although there are many big tech releases due this year in the smartphone category, there are no prizes for guessing which one will be the most hotly anticipated. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 6 will be eagerly awaited by fans of the previous devices all over the world. And with the sales figures for the last iPhone having been record breaking for Apple, there seems little doubt that the scenes of vast overnight queues of people hoping to get their hands on the new iPhone model will be repeated once again.
Of course, Apple hasn’t even confirmed the existence of the iPhone, let alone enabled any of the public an insight into what we can expect from the smartphone. But in a critical year for Apple in which it is battling to hang on to its market share against a resurgent Samsung and recover from recent poor market sentiment, the release of a new iPhone is obviously an absolute certainty.
We have learned bits and pieces from external sources about what the new iPhone 6 will look like, and these leaks and rumors have been intensifying recently. So here is a rundown of the latest information about the iPhone 6, what it will look like, any unique features, and when we can expect it to hit the marketplace.
Apple iPhone 6: Release date
The first thing to note about the iPhone 6 is that it is likely to appear some time in September. The first murmurings on this topic indicated that Apple would release the sixth generation iPhone somewhere between June and September, but I always personally believed that somewhere toward the end of this period was considerably more likely.
Other rumors surrounding the iPhone indicate that Apple is intending something pretty ambitious with the iPhone 6, so it was always asking a lot for the release date to be merely six months into 2014. Nevertheless, should the iPhone 6 come out in September, it will still represent a fairly radical strategy, given that previous iPhone releases have always been late in the calendar year.
Sapphire screen
One of the strongest rumors regarding the new iPhone 6 is that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will ditch the gorilla glass which previous iPhone have utilized in their construction and go with the apparently more durable sapphire glass instead. This notion was intensified among the rumor mill when reports broke that Apple had bought up huge amounts of sapphire glass, with the apparent intention of using them in both future iPhones and iPads.
Recently the renowned Apple reporter Apple Insider has learned that Apple and sapphire manufacturing partner GT Advanced Technologies are currently looking to expand operations at their plant in Arizona. This strongly supports the notion that Apple will go with sapphire glass for the iPhone 6.
Display size
Another one of the strongest presumptions about the iPhone 6 which is looking increasingly solid is that Apple will release two versions, and the premium version of the two will feature a much bigger screen than any previous iPhone. It is thought that the premium version of the iPhone 6 will feature a 5.5 inch screen, and be very much within the phablet category.
Nowhereelse.fr recently reported on a schematic which may have been leaked from Apple which seems to indicate that this will be the case. Concept images of this larger premium version of the iPhone 6 point to a device without bezel which looks pretty stunning in terms of appearance.
Delayed release?
However, although Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is planning to put out a premium iPhone 6, with a screen size larger than any previous smartphone released by the company, recent rumors indicate that the ambitious plans surrounding this premium phablet may induce the release date to be pushed back somewhat.
ComputerWorld indicates today that while the September release date appears to be solid according to Japanese sources, the premium version of the iPhone 6 may be delayed, and may not hit the shops in 2014 at all. Previously all iPhone releases have been co-ordinated, but the iPhone 6 may seemingly break this previous Apple policy.
Camera sensors
Finally, the latest report from Expert Reviews indicates that the iPhone 6 may feature two camera sensors when it is released. Patent leaks indicate one sensor will capture color and one light, meaning that the iPhone 6 camera will be able to capture more information and produce better photographs.
