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Apr 12, 2001
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In an extensive research note, the well-sourced KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi-Kuo has shared additional details about his expectations for the next iPhone model, expected to be called the iPhone 6. Perhaps the biggest change that Kuo mentions is a move of the sleep/wake button from the top of the iPhone to the side, to better facilitate one-handed operation on larger iPhones.

In line with previous rumors, Kuo believes the new 4.7-inch model will come with a 1334x750 Retina display at 326 pixels per inch, while the 5.5" will see a 1920x1080 screen at 401 ppi. Both devices will have the same aspect ratio to the iPhone 5, meaning apps will not need to be redesigned for the second time in three years.

The iPhone 6 will include a new A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, Touch ID, a narrower bezel by 10 to 20 percent, and the phone to be thinned to 6.5-7.0mm (the current iPhone 5 is 7.6mm thick). He also expects Apple to finally include NFC chips in its smart phones.

iphone-6-side-800x536.jpg
Renderings of iPhone 6 (4.7") and iPhone 6 (5.7") based on leaked schematics
For the 4.7", Kuo says the narrower bezel will still allow one-handed operation along with a better visual experience because of the bigger screen. He believes shipments could approach 60 million units by the end of the year.

The 5.5" phone won't be operable with one hand, but Kuo says some smartphone users prioritize the visual experience over one-handed use. He believes the more profitable phone it could cannibalize sales of the iPad mini, as well as smaller tablets and phablets form competitors. He expects the 5.5" iPhone 6 to debut later in the holiday quarter, with shipments just below 9 million units for the year. The 5.5" iPhone will also see a significantly larger battery -- 50% to 70% more watt-hours than the iPhone 5s -- to power the larger screen, and also because there will be more real estate inside the case. It's unclear if the larger screen will utilize all the extra battery or if device life will improve.

Kuo says only high-end iPhones -- like the 64GB 5.5" iPhone 6 -- may include a sapphire screen cover due to supply constraints, though he says the company will want to begin integrating Touch ID sensing into the screen in the future and will need sapphire glass for accuracy.

He expects the iPhone's rear camera to remain at 8 megapixels and f2.2 aperture, but it will see an adoption of optical image stabilization technologies to improve image quality without increasing pixel number, a frequent goal of Apple's in the past. Finally, Kuo expects production of the iPhone 4s and 4 to be ended, with the iPhone 5s and 5c filling as the more inexpensive options in Apple's smartphone lineup.

Article Link: iPhone 6 Could See Sleep/Wake Button Move, 401 ppi in 5.5" Model, Sapphire Display in High-End Phones
 

iLoveiTunes

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2011
268
512
oh boy, too many iphone articles in a single day... it's coming guys. fasten your seat belts

and damn, I am liking that mockup more and more by every passing day. me wants
 

chriscrk

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2011
524
1,069
Planet Earth (?)
This design is really growing on me. I'd be happy with it, it looks quite beautiful.

And it's nice that they can make the screen bigger and follow the "one hand use" idea they've always had, yet also opening an option for people that don't care about that idea and just want a bigger screen.

People seem to think it can only be one or another. Why not both?
 

belumira

macrumors newbie
Oct 17, 2011
7
0
i just hope they don't pull a Samsung and make the 4.7" iPhone a mediocre phone compared to the 5.5". Making the smaller phone with poor specs is a cheap move.
 

flash84x

macrumors regular
Aug 5, 2011
189
132
Looks a lot like the iPod Touch form factor which I love... except for the protruding camera lens, they'd better not do that with the iPhone.
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
I'm also not sure I would want a 5.5" phone that was thinner. First - I don't mind a thicker phone and use that space for more battery juice. Second - there's a point where the phone is of a certain size that it might/could feel "brittle" for being too thin.
 

ghost187

macrumors 6502a
Mar 18, 2010
965
2,042
As reliable as he is, how can I take him serious if he is claiming NFC? Also, I don't believe apple will fragment things by releasing 2 iPhones with 2 very different resolutions.
 

h1r0ll3r

macrumors 68040
Dec 28, 2009
3,920
19
Maryland
5.5" iPhone? I'm so ready for that. My Note 2 is getting boring. Especially after its most recent update.
 

appledes7

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2011
756
0
I am so tired of Apple trying to make things thinner. Keep the same thickness and improve battery life.
 

JoEw

macrumors 68000
Nov 29, 2009
1,583
1,291
Only 1GB of RAM in the iPhone 6? Really? :(

It simply to keep developers from getting lazy, Apple wants to make sure apps stay just as good on an iPhone 5 as an iPhone 6 and don't get so ram intensive that they make the battery life get even worse.
 

fallenjt

macrumors 6502a
Jul 3, 2013
519
43
Track Record

How's Ming Chi-Kuo's track record? He' quite correct in the past. I still won't see 5.5" iPhone possible at 1080p or 5.5" at whatever resolution. Apple may create another category at that size and maynot be a phone.
 

mazz0

macrumors 68040
Mar 23, 2011
3,117
3,564
Leeds, UK
I find it hard to believe they won't have a new phone with the current size - that's like admitting not only were they wrong with the original but they were wrong with the second attempt as well. I reckon there'll be a new iPhone 5 sized model as well (but maybe it'll joust be a 5S in 5C style, I'd love that!).

What would be really nice would be if they released a new one in the original size, that's still my favourite, and if people want bigger they can get one of the really big two. Nobody who was asking for bigger seemed happy with the iPhone 5 size anyway.
 

KanosWRX

macrumors 6502
Jul 14, 2008
417
396
Who wants to take bets the lowest memory size will still be 16GB!! :( Time to get with the times Apple all your competitors are putting in 32 minimum these days.
 

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
2,576
Western US
If the iPhone 6 is indeed moving the power button to the side of the device, that has to mean these supposed "blueprints" (and resulting renders we are looking at) are not correct, right? Both can't be right.

1 GB RAM in an iPhone 6 would be somewhat disappointing, it's already barely adequate in current devices. Those high-PPI screens are going to require higher-resolution assets, and more RAM (shared for GPU VRAM), not to mention the screen buffers themselves that must also increase in size.

I wonder if Apple can implement RAM compression in the iPhone, as they did in Mavericks. It works really, really well in OS X, but I don't know if the performance and battery life would prohibit its use in mobile devices. Supposedly the A7 has all the extra headroom not even being tapped in current apps, we must assume the A8 will be even more capable, so maybe dynamic RAM compression is one possible use for that untapped processing power?
 
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