Can’t say we didn’t see it coming — several outlets are reporting they have confirmed the iPhone 6 will hit stores in September.
Speculation started Saturday morning when the Nikkei Asian Review reported suppliers of LCD panels for the new phone plan to ramp up production soon.
So it’s the same old story. Apple announces a new operating system at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. That announcement is followed by about four months of obsessive speculation over the phone, which ends up looking almost exactly like the previous model and hitting stores in September. Except not quite.
Nikkeialso reports the phone “will likely be offered in 4.7 and 5.5-inch versions, both of which are larger than the current generation’s 4-inch screen.”
If true, this would be the first time Apple has released two different-size screens in the same model of the phone.
The larger screen sizes follow months of speculation and confirm a report from Bloomberg in November and a similar report from the Wall Street Journal in January.
The Journal noted Apple needs a larger screen to compete in international markets, noting nearly one-fourth of smartphones that shipped worldwide in the third quarter had screens that were 5 inches or larger.
The Bloomberg report from November claimed the new phone’s screen would be curved with new sensors to detect different levels of pressure. However, neither the Journal or Nikkei confirmed either of those reports.
The new phone will almost undoubtedly sport the new iOS 8 operating system, which is rumored to contain several new applications. (Via iPhone Hacks)
Applications may include Healthbook, an application that would use wearable devices - potentially also made by Apple - to help track calories burned, blood pressure, and other health data points, and TextEdit for iOS, a mobile-adapted version of the popular word processor for OSX. (Via 9to5Mac)
You can expect to hear more about the new operating system at Apple’s WWDC conference in June. Screen sizes will likely be confirmed just ahead of the phone’s release this fall.
