Many now expect Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to launch not one, but two bigger iPhone 6 models this year. However, a report from the Taiwanese website Commercial Times (and picked up by CNET) suggests that only the rumored 4.7-inch model will be released this year because of battery issues with the larger handset.
Why the bigger iPhone 6 could be delayed
The website reports that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) wants the rumored 5.5-inch iPhone 6 to be extremely thin, and that is creating an issue for the maker of the handset’s battery. Usually smartphone batters are between 2.8 millimeters and 2.9 millimeters in thickness. However, the Taiwanese site claims that Apple wants the battery in the bigger iPhone 6 to be no larger than 2 millimeters thick.
This means that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6, if it really is in the works, might not be released until 2015. Or it could be delayed until battery makers are able to comply with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s demands, whenever that is. However, it is expected that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will still launch in September, right on schedule with previous iPhone launches.
We heard not too long ago from another source that the bigger iPhone 6 could be delayed, although a different reason was given. That report suggests that the delay is because the larger screen was also giving manufacturers some issues. However, it also provided a possibly solution to the issue, which would be that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would revert back to thin film technology for the display rather than moving forward with the newer in-cell technology.
iPhone 6 or iPhone Air?
The Commercial Times also suggests that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s suppliers are calling the larger iPhone 6 the iPhone Air in order to differentiate it from the smaller model. However, it states this is a “nickname,” which means that Apple might not actually use that name. Nonetheless, some people have been tossing around the idea that the next iPhone could be called the iPhone Air instead of the iPhone 6.
