APPLE IPHONE 6 RELEASE SPECS AND RUMOURS..kenyan daily digest

iPHONE 6 DESIGN

If Apple does opt to change the screen size for the iPhone 6, it will almost certainly introduce a new handset design as well. Rather than simply scale up an existing iPhone, a new look would better differentiate the new handset from its predecessors. Although far from official, some early speculative renders give us an idea what a redesigned iPhone 6 might look like.

The renders, published to Yanko Design, show what the iPhone 6 would look like with a larger screen, thinner bezel, rounded edges and no home key.

We doubt Apple will retire the home key any time soon, as iOS depends on it so heavily. The company also just introduced the TouchID fingerprint sensor with the iPhone 5s, and removing it a generation later would be an admission of failure on Apple's part. Even so, we're big fans of the larger screen and ultra-thin bezels.

iPHONE 6 TOUCH ID

Touch ID, the fingerprint reader, was the one of the big talking points for the iPhone 5S. Recent rumours suggest that Touch ID will also come to the iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2, so we'd really expect it on the iPhone 6.
Touch ID works brilliant and encourages people to be more secure, as using it requires a passcode to be set. At the moment, Touch ID can only be used to unlock the iPhone and to authorise iTunes and App Store payments, but it would make sense for Apple to be thinking about new applications for the technology. We can easily see a future where banking apps, for example, are authenticated through the phone.
For the technology really to be taken seriously, we'd expect to see it in as many mobile devices as possible, which obviously includes the iPhone 6. The only real question is, will we see Touch ID open up any new features? If Apple was to include a NFC chip, then Touch ID could be used to authenticate payments. We're not necessarily expecting NFC, though, as Apple has so far been dead set against including it.

iPHONE 6 iOS 7

We already have iOS 7, so it makes sense that this operating system will be used for the iPhone 6. It's possible, given that the iPhone 5S has features specific to it, that the OS will be updated to introduce new features with the new handset. For example, it could enable NFC is Apple decides that it wants the technology to use for mobile payments; we wouldn't bet on it, though, as it seems steadfastly against it.

iOS 7 was released with the iPhone 5S, but a tweaked version could come to the iPhone 6

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.
Part of the problem with the system is that the Lytro camera only took low-resolution photos, which were no good for printing at a later date. Upping the resolution isn't that easy and, by the details of the patent, not something that Apple is going to do. Instead, the patent refers to a high-resolution and low-resolution mode, with the patent covering a "digital camera system configurable to operate in a low-resolution refocusable mode and a high-resolution non-refocusable mode".
From the sounds of this, the lightfield option would be an option in the camera mode, much as Slo-Mo is with the iPhone 5S. The Slo-Mo editing tools, which are easy-to-use and incredibly intuitive, so if Apple can bring the same approach to lightfield, it could offer a completely different smartphone photography experience.
The patent contains no information as to when or if Apple will use the technology, particularly as it could be hard to slim it down to fit into a smartphone. Still, we can just hope that it will be ready for use in the iPhone 6.

iPHONE 6 GAZE DETECTION

A bigger screen requires more power, so any technology that can increase battery life has to be good. For the iPhone 6 Apple could be about to revisit gaze detection technology, where the phone can tell if you're looking at the screen or not. If you were to look away, the phone could pause a video playing and turn the screen off. PatentlyApple has dug up the full information on how the technology is likely to work.
Given that Samsung has similar technology in its Galaxy S4 smartphone, we'd say there's a high chance that Apple will follow suit and implement its own version.

iPHONE 6 STORAGE

In terms of storage, 64GB has been the top model for a couple of years, and continues to be so for the iPhone 5S. We're not expecting this to change for the iPhone 6, although we know that the Apple can make a 128GB model, thanks to the recent launch of a 128GB iPad 4.
The new model doubled the maximum capacity of the previous high-end iPad (64GB). This update was said to be about increasing the variety of uses for the tablet, with Apple stating that more storage was good for large files for use in applications such as CAD and music production. It's also a more useful amount of storage for photos and videos.

iPHONE 6 A7 SoC

At the moment, the Apple A7 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is the main focus for the company. This is the first 64-bit mobile chip and it's extremely fast. In fact, in our benchmarks on using the iPhone 5S, we found that the A7 is by far the fastest mobile processor. Apple has now used the A7 chip in both the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display.
Where as in the past Apple had to tweak the graphics part of the SoC to work on an iPad's screen by adding quad-core graphics (the latest chip with the A6X), with the A7 this isn't required. Instead, the A7 is fast enough as it is.
With that in mind we'd expect to see the same chip used in the iPhone 6. However, the only caveat is when the phone comes out. If it's early next year then we'd expect the A7 chip to be used as is; if the release date is closer to the end of next year, then we could see a tweaked version, perhaps even a quad-core variant.

iPHONE 6 PRICE

Apple typically releases its new models at the same price as the old ones. If that holds out, then, and assuming that the 16GB model is dropped, we'd expect the 32GB model to cost £529, the 64GB model £599 and the 128GB model £699. However, if the company continues to sell the iPhone 5S, we could be in for some new pricing, with the iPhone 6 a premium model that sits above it, in which case all bets are off and we have no idea how much it will be.
If Apple does decide to make an iPhone with a larger screen, there's also a good chance prices will increase too. Susquehanna analyst Chris Caso, speaking to AllThingsD, predicted that there could be a $50 to $100 premium for a larger iPhone 6, compared to the 4in iPhone 5s.
Although this goes against Apple's tradition of keeping prices the same across generations, it's not a rule the company is afraid to break every now and then. Last month's iPad Mini with Retina display launch introduced a $70 premium over the entry level model, so a price hike isn't out of the question. by EXPERTREVIEWS ......Kenyan daily digest

Tags: TECH NEWS