Usually at this time of year it would be rather difficult to get too excited about a tech release scheduled for the fourth quarter of the year. But this is the iPhone we’re talking about. With the sixth generation of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iconic smartphone on the distant horizon there is naturally a lot of anticipation regarding what the world’s biggest selling and most popular smartphone will deliver in terms of functionality.
The iPhone remains arguably the coolest piece of consumer electronics in the world, but there is also no doubt that Samsung has considerably closed the gap on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with its Galaxy range. The Samsung Galaxy S5 will be hitting the high street in April of this year, so the Korean manufacturer will get a six month head start to impress the public ahead of the release of the iPhone 6.
Thus, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will have to deliver something pretty spectacular if they are to maintain their position in the public mind as the acme of premium consumer technology. Certainly analysts believe that they have achieved this up to now, with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) having taken over at the top of the Interbrand list of the world’s top brands in this year’s report.
So with expectation regarding the new iPhone already heightened, we can expect a lot of details to be leaked ahead of its official announcement, as well as a lot of rumors to surface. And the last few days have seen a few more of both of those snippets of information seeping into the public domain.
Apple iPhone 6: New concept video
One of the most interesting developments of the last few days has been the surfacing of an iPhone concept video. This particular viral YouTube video shows a thinner iPhone with a tweaked physical design and a 4.7-inch 1080P HD display. It seems clear based on what we’ve heard about the iPhone 6 so far that there will be various models of the smartphone, which is in line with what Samsung will be doing with the Galaxy. It’s clear that both of the market leaders wish to leave no stone unturned and neglect no section of the market in their battle for supremacy.
This concept preview has been released by Ran Avni and Alex Casabo from Concept-Phones, and the video cycles through a multitude of different angles of their impression of how they see the iPhone 6. The device as they see if features chamfered edges and a similar overall design to the iPhone 5s, but with a larger screen and other subtle differences.
Of course, a concept video has no obligation to deal with technical headaches and logistical issues in the way that a real phone does; thus, it is easy to produce something that looks striking and staggeringly beautiful. There is a certain artistic freedom associated with such concept videos that unfortunately doesn’t translate to the real world. But nevertheless what the video does make clear is that the iPhone 6 need not sacrifice the series’ legendary sleekness in order to deliver a large screen.
Physical tweaking
Aside from the physical attractiveness of the iPhone 6 concept there are also noticeable physical alterations as well. Perhaps the most tangible of these is the camera shifting to the middle of the device, which would something of an innovation if it did occur. Furthermore, the buttons on the proposed iPhone 6 are pill-shaped offering users a potentially larger surface area to operate them.
The concept video also proposes that the iPhone 6’s screen will be a 4.7-inch display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. The larger screen ensures that the overall dimensions of the iPhone 6 will be increased over previous versions, with the smartphone proposed to be 130mm tall and 63 mm wide. This would be quite a significant increase in size from the previous iPhone, with the iPhone 6 mooted to be 6.3mm greater in height and 4.4mm in width based on this projection. Additionally, as has been predicted previously, this concept iPhone is 2mm thinner than the iPhone 5s.
Although this concept iPhone appeared to be a premium model of the forthcoming Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) handset, given the larger screen size, rumors nevertheless persist that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also release a version of the iPhone 6 with an even bigger screen than featured in the concept video. The premium model of the iPhone 6 would feature a full HD 1080p display, and could be even as large as 5.5 inches; putting it in line with the screen size of the mooted Galaxy S5.
iOS rumors
Details have also been provided regarding the operating system that the iPhone 6 may be running. The iPhone 6 concept model runs iOS 7.2, and crams new features into the mix such as quick reply, close all open apps and a new way to use Touch ID to access applications. On the other hand, some analysts believe that with perhaps as long a period as ten months until the release of the iPhone 6 that it could be bundled with an entirely new version of iOS, which would naturally be labelled iOS 8. More details on this will doubtless be revealed at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s summer WWDC 2014 event; traditionally a favored venue for announcements regarding new tech and software.
Although this isn’t a leak as such, instead based on highly-skilled artist interpretations of leaked information, it nevertheless gives a reasonable indication as to what we can expect from at least one model of the iPhone 6.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s strategy will clearly to some degree be predicated on the need to respond to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s ambitious approach. The Korean company has already stated that it expects and intends to overtake Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the smartphone market this year. And this isn’t an idle boast; the sales of the Samsung Galaxy S4 range would indicate that this is a very achievable target for Samsung during 2014. Early indications from the iPhone 6 show that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is taking Samsung very seriously indeed.
