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Bigger screen, new design, better battery - the iPhone 6 rumour round-up

How Apple's new smartphone is shaping up

Bigger screen, new design, better battery - the iPhone 6 rumour round-up
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In less than a week, Apple will announce the iPhone 6. Then everyone who spends their time speculating about such things can get on with other matters.

Such as speculating about the iPhone 6S, for example.

Now seems an appropriate time to issue one final update from the iPhone 6 rumour mill. It's kept on grinding since our last round-up, back in May, during which time it has churned out confirmation of previous rumours as well as several new titbits of info.

So, one more time - let's speculate.

All-new design

The iPhone 6 will follow a brand new design language. If you count the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S as extensions of Apple's ground-breaking iPhone 4 design - which we do - then it'll be the company's first major design revamp for four years.

Yes, there was last year's iPhone 5C. But that was more of a plastic iPhone 5 revamp than anything else.

Component leaks (see picture, courtesy of YouTube user RozetKed) point to a bigger-but thinner device than the iPhone 5S, and one that ditches the sharp, square edges of recent designs (which some of Apple's rivals have only just started to copy - oops) in favour of a rounder look.

The iPhone 6 display will fit with this softer approach, with a distinctive curved edge that appears to melt into the metallic edges.

The lack of a chamfered edge should hopefully make for a phone that's less susceptible to dinks and scuffs along its edges.

Two flavours

For the second time ever, the new iPhone range will offer up two distinct flavours. For the first time ever, those two flavours will differ in terms of size.

The stock iPhone 6 will come with a 4.7-inch display, while there's also expected to be a 5.5-inch model, which some people call a 'phablet,' and others call a 'stupidly oversized phone.'

General thinking has it that the smaller model will be available first, given the steady flow of leaked components from the production line for that model. Meanwhile we've only seen a couple of components for the bigger model.

Bigger displays

In case you hadn't noticed, 4.7-inches is a great deal bigger than the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5's 4-inch display. Yep, Apple is finally going big with its smartphone range.

And we're not talking a half-hearted lengthening of the screen, as with the iPhone 5. No, we're talking Android phone circa 2012 big. To put it into context, it's the same size as the screen on the old HTC One X and the recently announce Samsung Galaxy Alpha, and it's not much bigger than the popular Motorola Moto G.

The 5.5-inch model, meanwhile, will be the same size as the LG G3, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, and the OnePlus One.

Apple will have to up the resolution of its displays to keep things looking sharp, and to continue justifying that Retina display tag. But the exact nature of this resolution bump is all highly speculative at present.

There's a convincing argument doing the rounds that the 4.7-inch base model will feature a 1334?×?750 resolution. That's a little over the 720p displays found on most sub-5-inch Android phones these days, and would produce the exact same pixel density (326ppi) as the iPhone 5S.

The same argument suggests that the 5.5-inch model will adopt a 2208?×?1242 resolution. That, again, is a little sharper than the 1080p displays sported on most high-end 5-inch-plus Android phones, and would result in a pixel density of 461ppi.

If you're wondering why the larger model needs a sharper display, it's simply because the larger the screen, the more noticeable individual pixels are. That's why the tiddly iPhone 5S screen still looks great, even next to far sharper yet far bigger Android phones.

Sapphire screens

The other rumour doing the rounds concerning the iPhone 6 display is that it will switch to a new, tougher material.

Apple has invested heavily in sapphire glass, a flexible material that's far sturdier and resistant to scratching than existing standards like Gorilla Glass.

However, there are some doubts over whether Apple will be able to produce enough of this material to cover both iPhone 6 models and the rumoured iWatch wearable that will also probably be announced on September 9.

Reports suggest that the 4.7-inch model will be stuck with the older, weaker screen material, while the more-expensive 5.5-inch model will get the sapphire treatment.

Check out Marques Brownlee's video in which what seems to be a prototype sapphire glass iPhone 6 faceplate is put through hell.

A8 processor

This one's a bit obvious, really. Every year Apple puts a new and improved processor in its iPhone. Every year the number in its name is bumped up by one.

In the case of the iPhone 6, we're up to A8. It'll probably produce more power with less or the same level of battery drain.

Bigger battery

Speaking of which, a bigger chassis means that Apple can squeeze in a bigger battery. And with those bigger, sharper displays on board, you'd better believe that the iPhone 6 will need one if it's to last through the day.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, these bigger battery components have leaked from China's supply chain. It seems the 4.7-inch model will be fitted with an 1810mAh unit, while the 5.5-inch device will run with a 2,915mAh battery.

That latter one is nearly double the capacity of the iPhone 5S's 1,560mAh battery.

NFC

Apple has resisted adopting Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for several years longer than many expected it would. That's set to change, finally, with the iPhone 6.

Once again, component leaks have revealed that the next iPhone will come packing NFC connectivity.

NFC enables pairing with compatible Bluetooth devices with a simple physical tap, but more excitingly it also signals Apple's belated entry into the mobile payments market.

Expect to see Apple capitalising on all those millions of customer credit card details it has on its system and making it easy for you to leave your wallet at home - once retailers get on board, that is.


Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.