With a little over 6 months to go before the likely announcement of the iPhone 6 – assuming Apple stick to the same schedule as last year – we thought this would be a good point to cherry pick the more substantial rumours from the deluge of wild speculation, wishful thinking and plain science fiction fantasy that preceeds any major Apple launch online.
The last iteration of the world's most famous phone, the 5s and 5c, were mererly updates on the previous model, meaning in the usual Apple cycle the iPhone 6 should be truly 'next-generation'. It will also be the first major iPhone reboot of the post-Steve Jobs era, arriving at a time when Samsung are making serious inroads into their market share with Android.
Two things all but confirmed for June, when the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference takes place, is the announcement of a larger-screened iPhablet to bridge the gap between the 5c and iPhone 6 and a new version of iOS. Aside from that, details about the future of iPhone are limited to 'well placed sources', 'leaks' and predictions based on Apple's patenting activity. Here are the most likely – along with a gallery of some of the more interesting artist's impressions of what the iPhone 6 might (read: probably won't) look like.
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1 | There will be no 'home' button
Possibly because the iPhone 6 will use 'gesture control', which roughly means waving at it like you're performing a Jedi mind trick.
2 | A new, better screen
Called the Retin + Sharp IGZO display, it will provide iPhone 6 users with 1080p, full HD resolution. Which mean sharper pictures and better touch responsivenes
3 | It'll be thinner
What, did you seriously expect it to get heavier? Thanks to improvements in LED backlight technology, the rumour is that the iPhone 6 will now come in a size 6.5mm (slimmed down from the iPhone 5's 7.6mm).
4 | Your battery will last longer
A welcome if dull improvement – ah, but wait, the reason for the extra juice is reportedly a screen that acts as a solar panel. Yes Apple, who already have plans to build a 4.4 million square foot office space covered in this new sapphire glass-coated stuff – will finally catch up with pocket calculators by equipping the iPhone 6 to charge in the sunshine. Which will come in handy in Britain for approximately 48 hours a year, etc.
5 | It'll feel 'curvier'
According to predictions, we can expect a new glass display that 'curves down at the edges'. Whether this is for anything other than cosmetic purposes we're not sure – possibly to improve shock absorption and reduce breakages when you scramble to answer a call and accidentally throw your phone on the pavement?
6 | It'll have more power
The A8 processor will allow for smaller components, reducing power consumption. Which is nice.
7 | Finally – lots of beautiful colours
New screen technology will apparently use 'nano-scale quantum dots' – tiny crystal semiconductors measuring thousandths of a millimetre across that allow for more accurate colours than exisiting LED displays. Apple submitted four patent applications for this technology in March.
http://www.esquire.co.uk/gear/gadgets/5899/iphone-6-how-to-might-look-and-what-it-might-do/
