The new iPhone is coming, and it's packing a lot of heat this time. From sapphire crystal displays to new processors and cameras. The rumour mill has been buzzing for a long time now and expectations are high from what is expected to be Apple's biggest (literally and figuratively) iPhone till date. Here's what we expect.
Bigger Screen
The iPhone 6 is expected to have a 4.7 inch display, which will be the biggest ever in an iPhone till now. Also, the company is also expected to launch a 5.5 inch variant of the smartphone later.
This would also mean an increase in the screen resolution from the 1136x640 pixel in the iPhone 5S. This would be essential in order to retain the 16:9 aspect ratio and Apple could go with a 1704x906 pixel resolution.
The iPhone curretly uses a pixel doubling technique, where it takes a base of 568x320 and doubles it to 1136x640 to achieve the Retina Display quality. This could be upgraded to a pixel tripling technique, to get 1704x960 that is mentioned above.
Slimmer and lighter
The new iPhone has also been rumoured to be lighter and thinner than the iPhone 5S. While the current model is 7.6 mm thick, the iPhone 6 is rumoured to fall between 6 mm and 7 mm in thickness, which would be closer to the iPod Touch that is only 6.1 mm thick.
In addition, it could also have thinner bezels than earlier models, along with a thinner chassis. The larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may also have optical image stabilisation.
Sapphire Crystal Glass
The screen on the iPhone 6 may be made of the sapphire crystal, which was seen on the Touch ID Sensor that Apple introduced with the iPhone 5S. This screen is much more durable than any others and has been rumoured to be endure many pressure tests in various videos and reports online.
New SoC that goes beyond dual-core?
In a recently leaked analyst report, it was noted that the 5.5 inch variant of the iPhone 6 may have a more powerful Apple A8 processor than the 4.7 inch variant. Apple's processor's till now have been dual-core chipsets, but this new SoC may have more cores to use the extra space that is available.
Big camera upgrade
On the camera front, reports have said that a new Sony Exmor sensor will be used in the iPhone 6. This will be a 13 MP camera with the Sony Exmor IMX220 sensor, which is also capable of shooting 1080p videos.
Not so big battery pack
While the battery on the iPhone 6 is still going to be non-removable, some rumours have suggested that it would have a 2,100 mAh battery. In addition, Apple has also been rumoured to have increased the battery life of the smartphone by about 15%.
iOS 8
The developer preview for the iOS 8 operating system was seen at the WWDC 2014 conference. Apple showed off some neat new features on the OS, but there's a lot that we don't know yet. Expect a lot of surprises from the next version of Apple's operating system.
More wireless tech, may be...
The wireless-ness of the iPhone 6 may be much higher than its predecessors. The new version may have wireless charging and other features like NFC, improved WiFi speed etc. There is also supposed to be improved support for LTE connections.
Even more expensive?
If you were hoping to see a drop in the price tag of the iPhone 6, you will be disappointed. Looking at the upgrades that Apple is bringing and the premium materials that it uses, this phone should cost anywhere above Rs 50,000 and quite possible above Rs 60,000 even.
The effect though would be on the price of the iPhone 5S, which is already available for below Rs 45,000. This could further drop to within Rs 35,000 and Rs 40,000, which would make it a very good buy for Apple fans.
India launch sooner than normal
If Apple announced the iPhone 6 on September 9, then it should go on sale around September 19. But this is overseas. In India, the device should make an appearance either around Diwali or in December, around New Year.
Not only that, it would push the prices of older Apple smartphone down, with the iPhone 4 expected to reach the end of its lifetime.