Apple iPhone 6 Full specification and release date rumours

iPhone 6 DESIGN

Typically, Apple uses the same design for a product for two iterations, before bringing out something new. As we've had the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S, it makes sense for Apple to go for something different for the iPhone 6.

Rumor has it that the iPhone 6 is taking design cues from the iPod Nano and iPhone 5C.

Rumors published on the Japanese blog Macotakara stated that Apple wants to replicate the multiple colors of the iPhone 5C, giving people a choice for their new phone.

The iPhone 5C was made of plastic, which wouldn't seem like the right move for a high-end smartphone; Apple seems to agree and is also looking to the construction of the iPod Nano. This product comes in multiple colors, too, but uses anodized aluminum body to provide the color.

iPHONE 6 TWO SCREEN SIZES

Rumours that the iPhone 6 will come in two screen sizes simply won't go away. The most recent information comes from leaked information from Foxconn executives (unnamed, of course), reported by BGR.

According to this information, the iPhone 6 will ship in 4.7in and a phablet-sized 5.7in. This would be the first time that Apple has launched one mobile product in two sizes, but the company is apparently ready to make an exception this time around.

Even more fuel was poured on to the fire of this rumour, this time with information that a 4.7in iPhone 6 to be joined by 5.6in iPhone phablet.

According to Taiwan's Economic Daily News, Apple is set to launch a new phablet alongside the iPhone 6, with a 5.6in screen size. The site is reporting that Apple will not launch this product under the iPhone brand. There's no information as to what the product will be called, but it's possible that it could fall under the iPad category.

According to the reports, the new product is a result of Apple experimenting with screen sizes. In some ways it makes sense to have the larger product, as it gives consumers more choice and lets Apple compete with its competition at all screen sizes.

The new device will apparently have a sapphire glass screen, making it extremely tough and durable. Unfortunately, that's all the information that we have for the time being.

We're not entirely sure that we believe these rumours. We know that Apple was reportedly trying different screen sizes, but trying and releasing are two completely different things. With all of its existing mobile range, Apple has kept things simple by having just one screen size; complicating the line-up with two screen sizes doesn't feel like the kind of thing that the company would do.

Besides, Apple already has the smaller iPhone 5S, so we'd imagine that this will sit alongside the iPhone 6 as the smaller handset. We can't completely rule out this rumour, but given by past form, we'd say that the iPhone 6 available in one screen size seems more likely.

iPhone 6 RELEASE DATE

The short version is that nobody really knows when the iPhone 6 is coming out. Everyone has a guess, but it's usually wrong. In other words, Apple releases a product when it's good and ready.

Typically, Apple releases a new iPhone once a year, around September. This time around, the rumours are that Apple is breaking that cycle. As the iPhone 6 is largely a complimentary product to the iPhone 5S, giving people a choice of screen sizes, the argument is that Apple will release the new smartphone soon.

So far, we've seen May, June and July all rumored for a launch date. The information comes from a wide variety of conflicting sources, so none of these feels right.

However, there's a more persuasive argument that the iPhone 6 will launch in September, as is usual. It all comes from the financial report submitted by GT Advanced. This is the company that will manufacture sapphire glass for the new smartphone (see below for more information).

In GT Advance’s earnings report, it's clearly stated that the company expects to earn the vast majority of its money in the second half of the year. That means, from July, GT Advanced will be producing sapphire glass that will have to be shipped to China to be used with the iPhone 6 production line. That would seem to suggest that the iPhone 6 will be released in September, one year after the iPhone 5S.

It's hard to argue with those kinds of figures, but we'll bring you more information as we have it.

iPHONE 6 CAMERA

For the iPhone 5S Apple upped the physical size of its 8-megapixel sensor, meaning that each pixel gets more light. In addition, it upgraded the lens from an f/2.4 model to an f/2.2 model, increasing low-light performance again. Combined with the A7 SoC, the camera has a couple of neat modes, including a 10fps burst mode that goes on until the phone's memory is full, and a 120fps slow-motion mode.

It would make sense if Apple was to use this sensor in the iPhone 6, although, given it's a bigger phone, with more room inside for components, it could well up the pixel count, with a 12- or 13-megapixel on the cards.

Apple may also be considering going in a completely different direction, particularly if a new patent is to be used. This suggests that the iPhone 6 could get a refocus-able lightfield camera.

Reported by 9to5Mac, a patent has been granted to Apple for a lightfield camera, allowing people to refocus their shots after they've been taken.

The technology works by capturing light fields, rather than a single 2D capture of the moment. The net result is that a photo is no longer a fixed capture, but one where you can select a part of the picture to completely refocus the image.

We've already seen the technology in use with the Lytro Light Field camera. It's an interesting product, using software to let you choose the point of focus after the image has already been capture. You can see an example of this in the shot below