None of these questions and many more will be answered until Tim Cook takes the stage later this year, but we can't wait until June or September. We're just not that patient. So, we've collected all the latest gossip we've heard right here. We hope you enjoy.
Updated on 06-11-2014 by Malarie Gokey: Added newly leaked picture of iPhone 6 taken by Taiwanese pop star Jimmy Lin.
Surprise … it's probably named iPhone 6, and it could be more expensive than ever
How long can Apple keep adding an ever-increasing number to the name of its latest iPhone? It gave up with the iPad after two models, and decided to add the word Air to the most recent iteration, signifying how slim and light it had made the tablet. Depending on the specs and size of the next iPhone(s), we could also see an iPhone Air, iPhone 6C, or iPhone Mini.
The iPhone has always been a premium smartphone with a premium price tag, but if analyst Peter Misek is to be believed, that tag may get even larger with the iPhone 6. He predicts the device will be up to $100 more than previous versions. He adds that Apple may already have network backing for the increase, due to there being "no other game-changing devices would be released in 2014." Apparently, networks realise the iPhone 6 will be the only "headline-worthy high-end phone launched this year," and may end up absorbing the extra cost themselves.
Statements like that are sure to irritate Android fans, and an extra $100 on the bill from Apple will inevitably annoy everyone when the time comes, so let's hope Misek is wrong on this one.
Preparations for launch rumored to have begun
For the last few years Apple has announced its new iPhone 6 around September or October. A sensible gambling man would bet on this trend repeating in 2014.
However, sensibility rarely comes into the equation when discussing any iPhone, so not everyone thinks this will be the case. Chinese website Tencent quotes an analyst who says the new phone will hit the production lines in May, ready for release between July and September, which does sound realistic.
Just before Christmas 2013, DigiTimes chimed in with some anonymous gossip from within the supply chain, saying Apple plans to release iPhone 6 in May 2014, just seven months after the iPhone 5S went on sale. (No, it doesn't sound all that likely to us.) Tech industry observer Eldar Murtazin disagrees, and tweeted that Apple is eyeing a June release, so it can better battle new Android phones from Samsung and HTC. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek also said a June or late summer release is possible.
iPhone 6 Concept by ADR
Why all the excitement over a June launch? It's the month during which Apple will hold its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC 2014). The iPhone has been absent from WWDC for years, and rumors of its return crop up often. Will 2014 be the year they come true, or must we wait for iPhone 6 until after summer once again?
The Taiwanese press are spreading the rumor Apple has chosen August for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model to go on sale, and the larger 5.5-inch model will follow in September. Few companies hold major announcements in August, due to it traditionally being a holiday month for a large part of the world, so this doesn't sound all that likely. However, it does fit in with comments that Apple wants to speed up release to better combat its Android rivals.
According to a news report, Pegatron, the company which makes some of Apple's hardware including the iPhone, is in the process of hiring more staff and opening a new factory. It's all in preparation for the iPhone 6, which will supposedly start making its way down the production lines between April and June. It's unlikely the phone will be announced in June if production gets underway during the same month, although the report's sources didn't provide an approximate release date.
Apple supplier Catcher Technology is estimated to deliver 15 percent of the iPhone 6′s metal casing components this year, according to an analyst, a figure which could mean a total of 70 million iPhone 6 sales are expected. It's further speculated that to reach this figure, Apple will have to launch the phone slightly earlier than September. No date is offered, but the analyst doesn't expect it before the end of July.
Pegatron, one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, is rumored to have secured orders to build 15 percent of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 devices. It's an indication Apple will split production between Pegatron and its regular partner Foxconn. Between the pair of them, at least 50 million iPhone models, of various sizes, will roll off the production lines during 2014.
Staying with production rumors for a moment, it's also being reported the first set of fingerprint sensors for the iPhone 6 (along with those for the next-generation iPad tablets) have started to be delivered, again in anticipation of the upcoming launch.
Super slim 6mm body
Will the next iPhone be much slimmer than older models? That's a very good question, and one which fits in with the idea Apple may chose to name the next model the iPhone Air. The iPhone has never been a bloater, but rumors have spread the next generation may be much thinner than ever. Korean news source ETNews.com quotes sources from the Chinese IT media, who say Apple may shave 1.6mm off the iPhone 5S' thickness to make a 6mm iPhone 6.
A Chinese website published a picture of what it claimed was the iPhone 6's chassis. It looks both slim and large, but it could also be completely fake, or not related to the iPhone at all. Only time will tell on this one. Following up his tweet regarding the pixel density of the iPhone 6′s screen, Sonny Dickson says the phone's chassis will be a mere 5.5mm thick, matching the current world's thinnest smartphone record holder, the Gionee Elife S5.5.
Another set of schematics, this time apparently leaked by a Foxconn employee, show a thin device with chamfered edges, much like the design seen on the iPhone 5S and the iPad Air. A mock-up of an iPhone 6 case, published by a French blog, shows a super-thin and longer design than existing models. Another noteworthy aspect of the case is the switch from individual volume keys to a single rocker switch.
A Chinese website recently began selling dummy iPhone 6 mockups, which you can see here in silver, the design of which could be based on the leaked specs we've already seen, or on the actual device which could enter production soon. Regardless, the pictures do give us a good look at what Apple may announce later on this year. Although they're out of stock now, the mockup phone could have been purchased for less than $100, ready for anyone to start making their own "leaked" iPhone rumors. Something to watch out for in the future, perhaps.
Such leaks may be very similar to this video, which apparently shows an iPhone 5S and an iPhone 4S being compared with a dummy iPhone 6. The new model is quite obviously much larger, and noticeably thinner, than the iPhone 5S. Plus, it has a new rounded design, and the sleep/wake key has been moved to the side of the device. All these factors have been included in previous leaks, but it's interesting to see the overall difference in size between the two.
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