A new report may point towards a final spec list for the iPhone 6 handset.
Per MacRumors and VentureBeat, a detailed overview of features for the iPhone 6 has emerged from an unspecified source.
According to the site’s source, Apple will introduce both the 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones at its upcoming September 9 event, but while the 4.7-inch version will ship in mid-September, the larger 5.5-inch iPhone won’t ship until up to a month later. This is in line with rumors suggesting the 5.5-inch iPhone isn’t entering mass production until August or September, a month to two months after production is said to have began on the 4.7-inch iPhone.
The report points towards a new 2.0GHz A8 chip, NFC capabilities, and 802.11ac WiFi, all of which have been mentioned in previous rumors as possible specifications for the iPhone 6. The site does get into some specifics, however, suggesting the device will use Qualcomm’s MDM9x35 cellular modem along with an NFC chip made by NXP and a WiFi chip from Broadcom.
Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor is said to include minor improvements that “speed up read times, cut down on false rejections, and improve security for mobile payments and biometrics,” and the source suggests the iPhone 6 will not use a sapphire screen.
The report also cites that the iPhone 6’s screens will be covered with a durable new covering that’s slightly harder than Gorilla Glass but not as hard as the rumored sapphire covering that’s been in the rumor mill for a while. While a front panel said to be for the 4.7-inch iPhone has undergone some testing that suggests it may not be composed of sapphire, many rumors have pointed towards the use of a pure sapphire crystal display or sapphire laminated glass display in at least one of the iPhone 6 models. The volume of sapphire production at Apple’s Arizona sapphire plant run by GT Advanced also points towards the heavy use of the material and it is unlikely that all of the company’s sapphire is being allocated towards the iWatch. During Q2 2014 alone, GT Advanced spent over US$45 million on “sapphire production ramp up costs”, and previous rumors have suggested the plant can output enough sapphire to outfit approximately 100 to 200 million iPhones.
The report also suggests that Apple is experimenting with special connectivity between the iPhone and Beats headphones using the Lightning connector. Apple did recently introduce a Lightning Cable MFi specification for headphones, making such a project a possibility. The report hints towards a technology that would form a special “handshake” between iPhones and Beats headphones. This consists of a chip that would authenticate Beats headsets on iPhones using the Lightning connector. Whether or not that feature materializes is anybody’s guess.
VentureBeat’s sources and speculation have been mixed in the past, including Apple suggesting that Apple recently teamed up with Swatch to help develop the iWatch, a rumor that was quickly put to sleep by Swatch CEO Nick Hayek. The report stresses that this may not be the final spec list for the iPhone 6.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.