With the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September 2014 Apple, for the first time ever Apple gave us two high-end phones and a real choice for consumers. With all of that success, we’re all interested now in how Apple can follow this up with its next smartphones. Here we’ve rounded up all of the likely rumours about the handset, while we peel back the layers of half-truths and outright nonsense to find out what Apple really has in store for us.
Will the iPhone 6S be the iPhone 7?
This is one rumour that simply refuses to go away: Apple may not have an iPhone 6S, but may instead jump straight to the iPhone 7 instead. The latest rumour on this front comes from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and reported by MacRumors, who believes that the inclusion of Force Touch on the new phone is such a big change that Apple will skip straight to iPhone 7.
Apparently, a capacitive Force Touch sensor will be installed under the phone screen’s backlight, and this is enough for Apple to make a complete name change. We really don’t think that this is the case. After all, with the iPhone 5S Apple introduced Touch ID and went 64-bit: these huge changes weren’t enough for the company to jump straight to iPhone 6, and Force Touch isn’t even in that league. We firmly believe that Force Touch will make an appearance (more on that later in this article), but we definitely don’t believe that this alone is enough to make Apple drop a model number.
That’s not to say that Apple won’t go for iPhone 7 instead of the iPhone 6S; however, if it does, the most likely reason will be because the company has decided that the ‘S’ range of phones is a bit confusing and clear model numbers make more sense.
Besides, doing this would completely change how Apple has approached its iPhone line and we’re not convinced that it’s ready to do that. Apple typically launches one new product with a brand-new design, which has a brand-new number: the iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 are all clear examples of this. The following year, Apple takes the same case (perhaps with some tweaks), makes some internal changes and launches a follow up with an ‘S’ suffix: the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5S are all clear examples of this.
Yet, every year, we have to go through the usual set of rumours suggesting that Apple will skip the S version and move straight to the next number. When the iPhone 4S launched, everyone was disappointed that it wasn’t the iPhone 5; when the iPhone 5S launched, everyone was disappointed that it wasn’t the iPhone 6. Obviously, we’ve got rumours that the next phone will be the iPhone 7.
Based on past form, we’d have to say that is complete nonsense and we refuse to believe these rumours until there’s some hard proof. Until then, this article cover the iPhone 6S, which will launch this year, for bigger changes, we’re most likely going to have to wait until 2015 for the launch of the next phone, which we cover in our iPhone 7 rumours article.
We definitely won’t get a bigger battery
One of the things that we know for certain is that the iPhone 6S and, indeed, any future iPhone, will not get a bigger battery. Jony Ive, the iPhone designer, recently said that a bigger battery would make the iPhone less compelling. His argument is that the iPhone is so slim and light that people always use it; making it bigger and heavier to contain a larger battery would mean that people would use it less. Unless Apple dramatically increases screen sizes, making the overall iPhone case bigger, larger batteries are definitely out of the window. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as we’ve found that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus lasted a lot longer than their predecessors, with the phablet easily lasting way over a day in normal use. Besides, if Apple can make its CPU more efficient, it will use less power, extending battery life without requiring a bigger battery. If you need a phone based purely on how long it lasts, our best smartphone battery life articl e will help you choose.
We may see THREE models: iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 6C
The success of the iPhone 6 and the larger iPhone 6 Plus, means that we’re likely to both models get a refresh with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. However, that leaves one gap in the market. At the moment, Apple also sells the iPhone 5S, which is just about the best and most powerful mini smartphone available. Come September 2015, though, and this handset will be two years old and getting on a bit.
The question is, will Apple replace this model with a newer 4in device, the iPhone 6C (potentially the iPhone 6S Mini)? Rumours initially said that the handset will use the A8 chip of the iPhone 6S and a similar, but smaller metal case (it won’t be plastic as the iPhone 5C was).
Doubt has been cast on these initial rumours with Digitimes now reporting that Apple will release an iPhone 6C aimed at emerging markets. As expected, it will have a 4in screen and, to keep costs down, it will be made of plastic.
We’re still not convinced by this one, as creating any new handset means starting a new production line, which costs a lot of money. Typically, when Apple has aimed at emerging markets in the past it has merely pushed one of its older handsets, where economies of scale and an existing production line have let it push the price down. This feels more likely to be the case going forward.
We wouldn’t expect to see a smaller iPhone 6S available in the UK, either. With the stunning sales of the 4.7in iPhone 6, which most people agree is the perfect size, there seems to be little point in Apple releasing a slightly smaller handset. We’ll stick our heads out and say that there won’t be three new iPhones this year.
Force Touch may come to the phone
Apple may include a pressure-sensitive display on the iPhone 6S, according to the Wall Street Journal. Introduced with the new MacBook, the technology can sense the difference between a light tap and a hard push (a ‘Force Touch’), performing different actions. For example, a Force Touch on a highlighted word can bring up the Wikipedia entry for it.
Although the iPhone already recognises the difference between a short and a long press, adding Force Touch brings in yet another way to interact with the phone. It could be useful, for example, in games, with a Force Touch in FIFA performing a long pass. It’s likely that Apple would also make changes to iOS in order to recognise the new type of input, most likely inside iOS 9, which will launch this year.
Given that Apple can build this technology into the Touchpad of the MacBook and the screen of the Apple Watch, it seems likely that it has the capability to add it into the iPhone 6S. The only thing that will likely make a difference is user feedback to the new input: if people generally don’t like or don’t use it, Apple may not choose to deploy Force Touch any further.
Apple SIM may be pre-fitted
One of the highlights of the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 was the Apple SIM, which comes pre-fitted to the Cellular versions and lets you choose your data plan on the fly. According to AppleInsider, Apple is now planning to roll its SIM technology out to the iPhone 6S, letting you choose your carrier directly from the phone without having to switch SIMs.
It’s a brilliant idea in theory and makes switching contracts easy, but there are plenty of problems to overcome. First, not all network providers support it; in fact, in the UK, the Apple SIM only works with EE. Secondly, not all carriers want to support it, and there have been cases in the US where networks actively removed Apple SIMs.
We think that all networks should support the Apple SIM for the simple reason that it opens up choice to consumers. We’re right behind Apple here and hope that it can use it clout to get more people to embrace the technology.
Gorilla Glass 4 instead of sapphire glass
We really wanted to see the iPhone 6 launch with a sapphire glass front panel. This material is second only to diamonds when it comes to hardness and is practically indestructible. In demonstrations, sapphire glass couldn’t be scratched with a knife. However, the problem with the technology is that it shatters more easily; this is the reason why the Sports version of the Apple Watch is the only one not to use Sapphire.
For that reason, it’s expected that Apple will not be rolling out larger Sapphire Glass screens for the iPhone 6S. Instead, the company may be using Gorilla Glass instead, which it has used on previous handsets. Fuelling those rumours is new information about Gorilla Glass 4.
James Clappin at Corning, the manufacturer of Gorilla, was reported by CNet as saying: “We told you last year that sapphire was great for scratch performance but didn’t fare well when dropped, so we created a product that offers the same superior damage resistance and drop performance of Gorilla Glass 4 with scratch resistance that approaches sapphire”.
That doesn’t mean that Apple is ready to give up on sapphire completely, though. Focus Taiwan has reported that Foxconn is building a new sapphire glass factory, although it seems unlikely that it will be ready and up to capacity in time for September. Hopefully, the iPhone 7 will be the first to use this technology for its front screen.
iPhone 6S release date – this September
There have been rumours that Apple will stagger its launches this year, giving us the iPhone 6S alongside the Apple Watch in April, and dishing out the iPhone 7 later in the year. This really doesn’t seem likely for several reasons. First, this would only give a short gap between the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which would likely annoy people that have just bought the new handset. Secondly, it doesn’t give Apple much time to develop anything new and it’s unlikely that the next CPU, the Apple A9 will be ready in time.
With no firm leaks of new handsets yet (and we’d expect to have more if we really were going to see the phones in April), we think that Apple’s sticking to its current schedule. Going on the previous launch dates (see table below), if Apple sticks to the same sort of release schedule, it should mean that the iPhone 6S will be out on September 18th 2015.
| Model | Launch date |
|---|---|
| iPhone 4S | September 12th 2011 |
| iPhone 5 | September 21st 2012 |
| iPhone 5S/5C | September 20th, 2013 |
| iPhone 6/6 Plus | September 19th, 2014 |
iPhone 6S better TouchID
According to a report by Ming Chi Kuo for KGI, and obtained by 9to5mac, Apple is reportedly going to bring a better quality Touch ID fingerprint reader to the iPhone 6S. According to the report, Apple plans to ship 262m Touch ID sensors this year, as it pushes the technology and its Apple Pay system. The new sensor is said to be more reliable than the older one, offering a better experience.
“We think the new iPhone, expected to launch in 3Q15, will be equipped with an upgraded Touch ID module, with which Apple (US) intends to offer a better and safer Apple Pay user experience with reduced reading errors,” said the report.
Ming Chi Kuo was quick to dismiss rumours, backed up by Apple patents, that the Touch ID would be integrated into the phone’s screen, saying that the home button was here to stay for a while. That makes a lot of sense to us, as a patent isn’t a declaration of intent to make a product, as we explained in our article on how patents work.
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