With Samsung making the final preparations for the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S5, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is toiling away behind the scenes working on the device that they hope will blow it out of the water. As much as the S5 will probably be a fantastic handset, there is no item of consumer electronics that gets people talking like a new iPhone, and for many people the iPhone 6 will be the tech highlight of 2014.
With this in mind, all Apple fans have their nose close to the ground at the moment trying to find out more about this exciting forthcoming smartphone. Thus, the loyal userbase that Apple has built up will be fascinated by the latest developments and murmurings related to the iPhone 6.
iPhone 6 to get a name change?
A report from the Far East, where Apple of course based a great deal of its production, has stated that Apple are currently working on two new iPhones that are going to blow previous models away – in size at least. According to the report, these two new forthcoming iPhones will feature larger screens than any previous iPhone handset, with the larger, more premium model of the two apparently utilizing a 5.6-inch display.
The alleged details were published this week by Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, with the story making one particularly striking claim. According to executives at Apple, the premium model may actually not use the name iPhone, with this 5.6-inch super-phone possibly set to be the recipient of an entirely new branding.
Is this really likely; is Apple really ready to branch out from the hugely successful iPhone branding? This seems highly unlikely to me, and even more so that they would release a phone which is seen as their flagship smartphone. But brands don’t last forever, and Apple will be well aware that diversifying their product range will be essential moving forward. Don’t write this rumor off entirely, it is worth keeping an eye on this one.
Sapphire glass rumors solidify
Aside from this iPhone 6 bombshell, there were further details leaked which appear to align pretty neatly with what we already presumed about the iPhone 6. The Economic Daily News reports that Apple is intending to cover its next generation smartphone with sapphire glass, although interestingly the report states that this may be exclusive to the premium 5.6-inch model.
The fact that Apple is apparently planning to release such a large iPhone is interesting, as previously the Samsung Galaxy has featured a larger display. This is quite a departure from the norm for Apple, and based on the now pretty solid rumors about the Galaxy S5 – namely that it will have a 5.25-inch screen – Apple’s premium smartphone will have a bigger display than the Galaxy for the first time in some years.
Meanwhile, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will seemingly continue to offer support for Corning Gorilla Glass, in accordance with previous handsets from the company. It would seem that the smaller iPhone will be very much an update of previous iPhones, whereas the 5.6-inch model is apparently attempting something entirely more ambitious. This premium device can be seen as a sort of ‘reboot’ of the iPhone brand, and has been described by analysts close to the current development process as “experimental”.
With Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s last financial figures having been perhaps a little less than the company hoped for, which resulted in something of a tumble in the company’s share price, Apple may be moving now to create a market buzz over its future. It has already been indicated that Apple needs to look to move into new product lines in order to maintain its existing success, and this could be viewed as the first attempt to do this, rather than simply putting out another humdrum iPhone.
The new rumors are pretty much in accordance with reports from China, where industry insiders who have viewed apparent prototypes have reported a display size of roughly 5.5 inches for the forthcoming iPhone 6. However, this is certainly the first time that it has been seriously suggested that the new iPhone might not been an iPhone.
iPhone 6 will fly off the shelves
Fans of consumer electronics are used to shortages of particularly sought-after devices. For example, the Playstation 4 has shot off the shelves worldwide, leaving Sony with a serious shortage of available units. Well, the premium Apple iPhone 6 – or whatever it ends up being called – is surely going to be one of the hardest electronic devices in history to get hold of, given the rarity of sapphire glass. Such a concept wouldn’t even have been feasible until very recently, and it will be fascinating to see how Apple keeps production costs down, and what sort of price point this new super-iPhone is launched at.
With recent reports also indicating that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is to upgrade the pixel density of the iPhone 6 to around 25 percent, expect this new device to sell out in no time.
