CUPERTINO, CA- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: APPL) Apple’s annual September event will be taking place in four days from now, where its upcoming smartphone generation will be released, the iPhone 6S. The web has been flooded with info regarding the device, some of them legit some not, that are worth to read about prior to the event on Sept 9th. So, you know, spoiler alert ahead.
Before jumping to the actual roundup we should mention for those really looking forward to the device that the point of the circle suggests that we will not see any essential differences, at least in terms of the looks.
Design
As aforementioned, the upcoming iPhone won’t leave us in awe like last year. Though, there will be a number of improvements in terms of the hardware’s stamina.
No #bendgate after all..
Reports suggest that Apple will use the same 7000 series aluminum found in the Apple Watch Sport which subsequently will make the 6S taller and wider than its predecessor to account for the enforced aluminum frame – so we hope no bendgate this time.
It is also worth mentioning that there are reportedly going to be new color additions to the line-up, including a novel pink and a premium 14-karat gold edition, like the one that the Apple Watch came in.
4-inch iPhone?
In summer some trustworthy sources out there, like mobile tech whistleblower Evan Blass and 9to5Mac, talked about a refresh of the two-year-old now iPhone 5C, the 6C. The 5C’s original purpose was to maintain the 4-inch spirit that would be essentially lost with the entry of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The renowned Apple blog said that the device won’t be revealed during the upcoming event but later this fall and that the 5C will be ostensibly discontinued.
So to sum it up, the 6S will feature the same fundamental design cues found in the previous gen; it will only be bigger and taller to boast a stronger structure, a more enduring battery hopefully and Force Touch.
Specifications
The ninth iteration of the iPhone line-up belongs to the point of the circle where the most impressive enhancement will be spotted in the spec sheet.
Apple A9: faster, better graphics, less power required
More specifically, this year Apple will make a big leap forward in terms of processors by implementing the much anticipated dual-core A9 processor clocked at 2GHz. The most exciting part is the new manufacturing process with the particular chip: a 14nm/16nm one. This would bring substantial improvements in power efficiency and performance while adding further enhancements on top of that .
Along with the iPhone 6, the Cupertino giant stated that the then-new A8 delivers 25% more CPU performance and 50% more graphics performance while drawing only 50% of the power compared to the A7 chip, so as you may have figured we cannot wait to see this year’s numbers.
3GB of RAM?
In addition to the A9 chip, the iPhone 6S will be the first handset in the line-up to feature 2GB of RAM, most likely the high-speed LPDDR4 RAM. More gigs of RAM mean that you can run a bigger number of apps simultaneously while multitasking becomes faster as well. Though, the specific intel has been a bone of contention between a variety of analysts so you should hold a grain of salt just in case.
Same battery?
The iPhone 6 came with an inefficient -like all iPhones did- 1810mAh battery and sources suggest that the specific amount will be seen in the iPhone 6S as well.
Despite the bigger aluminum frame that makes the device larger offering more internal space, it appears that Cupertino won’t include a bigger brick to run the juice, so apparently we are left for yet another year with our fingers crossed for a proper battery on the iPhone.
Storage
The iPhone 6S, like its predecessor, will come in three storage editions; 16, 64 and 128 non expandable.
Display
The next-gen iPhone won’t have any sparkly improvements when it comes to its display since the screen size will be maintained to the 4.7-inches -5.5-inches for the 6Plus- with a resolution of 750 x 1334 pixels (~326 ppi pixel density, LED-backlit IPS LCD, 16Μ colors).
“NO SAPPHIRE DISPLAY THIS YEAR.”
Due to production issues, Apple did not bring a Sapphire display on the iPhone 6 like it was much anticipated. There are reports out there suggesting that the company will shake hands with Foxconn for the making of Sapphire display on the 6S, though, as Mac Rumors Apple blog has correctly pointed out, no leaked docs from a relevant deal has come to light yet.
Camera
For four years now, since the 4S, Apple had been following the 8-megapixel primary camera tactic. So for three consecutive generations the amount of megapixels had remained stagnant, with few tweaks in terms of the size of the sensor (i.e. increasing it to absorb more light in).
12 Megapixels plus 4K video?
Evidently this year Apple will be pushing the envelope by bringing a 4608 x 2592 12-megapixel back camera, with phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash. The particular touch up offers the potential of 4K (Ulta HD, 2160p@30fps) video recording as well beside the outdated 1080p.
Rivals from the other side of the fence, including Cupertino’s arch enemy, Samsung, have long ago implemented 4K video capabilities in their respective flagship devices, so it would be about time for Apple to follow suit.
5 Megapixels selfie camera?
Flipping over to the front panel, significant changes will be made as well. The front facing camera will move from 1.2 megapixels to 5, along with LED flash, full HD video, HDR and face detection. If you ask me, that’s a hell of a selfie camera.
Extra features
The feature that received the most hype for this year’s iPhone was obviously Force Touch. Originally seen in the MacBook Pro laptop line-up of the company, Force Touch is expected to hit rivals, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Edge that offered a never-seen-before side-view display.
What is Force Touch?
Force Touch primarily includes a number of sensors that examine the way you tap on the screen or the trackpad. It can estimate with high-accuracy the pressure you add to the screen and the speed you swipe, analyze your fingers’ movement thus responding correctly. The mechanism is also referred to as a ‘taptic engine‘.
According to Bloomberg, it has been two years since the Cupertino giant started working with manufacturers on pressure-sensitive displays. So more or less it is confirmed that we will Force Touch on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
Better TouchID?
The iPhone 6 came with the unprecedented until then TouchID feature, a very secure way to keep your phone safe from others accessing sensitive or personal info, without having to remember a mind-boggling pattern or passcode.
TouchID essentially is a sensor behind the home button that recognizes your fingertip by laying your finger on it. Usually, the first generation of every technological piece does come with several issues; so did TouchID as there were a large proportion of customers reporting errors during the scanning process.
The 6S will boast an improved module of TouchID with reduced reading errors thus enhancing the freshly released Apple Pay experience as well.
Software
The ninth gen iPhone will come with Apple’s brand new iOS 9 that features a Cortana-smart Siri, improved Maps, Apple Pay, Apple Music streaming service and the news aggregator application unveiled during WWDC 2015, the News app.
Price and availability
Since the release of the original iPhone back in 2007 Apple has not really changed its release date and pricing strategy.
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus will be available in the US after a week or so, we believe the 18th of September will be the day, while the devices will reach the European shelves sometime between mid-October up to early November, with countries from Asia to follow in the next few months.
Pricing wise, the iPhone 6S will set you back US$199 for 16GB, US$299 for 64GB and US$399 for 128GB under a two-year contract. The iPhone 6S Plus will cost US$299 for 16GB, US$399 for 64GB and US$499 for the 128GB one, again under a two-year contract.
Both handsets’ price tag for the unlocked version ranges from $600 to $1100, depending on the storage size and the model.
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