iPhone 6 Specification & Price!!

Our iPhone 6 price, features, specs & release date rumours article is updated on a regular basis, so check back to keep up with the latest information. Updated on 4th July 2013 with new information on iOS 7.

From all of the information that we've seen, it looks as though all the really exciting Apple smartphone updates are going to come with the iPhone 6, with the iPhone 5S an update to the iPhone 5.

It's fair to say that Apple needs to reassert itself, as the competition has grown a lot stronger with the likes of the HTC One, Sony Xperia Z and Samsung Galaxy S4 all giving the smartphone king a run for its money.

As usual Apple is refusing to comment on unreleased products and leaks are few and far between, not to mention that much of the information is either faked or just plain wrong. Still, with the information that we've got, it's possible to wade through the information and work out what's likely and what's not.

In this article we're concentrating on the iPhone 6, although it may turn out that some of these features make it into the iPhone 5S. Apple may even just dump the iPhone 5S and move straight to the 6 instead. Regardless of names, if Apple's going to continue to make the most desirable smartphone it's going to have to pack some serious technology into its latest handsets.

iPHONE 6 RELEASE DATE

This is one thing that's extremely hard to pin down. Rumours have been pinging around, suggesting that the iPhone 6 may actually be the next Apple smartphone, rather than the iPhone 5S. Based on all the information that we've seen so far, we don't think that this is the case.

Now, given that Apple has said it intends to release its new products from autumn 2013, it should mean that we see the iPhone 5S late September/early October. If that's the case, the iPhone 6 release date is likely to have to wait until 2014.

Typically Apple releases one smartphone a year. That means that people who buy the latest model know that they're getting the best for at least a year. If Apple was to release the iPhone 6 too close to the iPhone 5S launch it would run the risk of angering its users. That said, if rumours that the iPhone 6 is to be bigger than the iPhone 5S are true, waiting a few months for an early 2014 launch would make sense. That way, the company can continue selling two phones: a large-screen model and a more compact model.

Jeffries analyst Peter Misek, released a note to investors stating that he believed the iPhone 6 would be launched in June 2014. Misek is reported as saying by theFinancial Post that "the supply chain is primed for an iPhone 5S and pivoting to the iPhone 6 will take at least two or three quarters". To use June 2014 feels a bit late, as Apple will want to get new technology out there before Samsung, HTC and Sony all unveil their next-generation handsets.

iOS 7

Although incredibly innovative and easy to use when it was first launch, iOS is now looking a bit dated. Each update to iOS has really felt like a tweak, leaving the same user interface alone. Some would argue that iOS 6, which was introduced with the iPhone 5, was actually a step backwards with Apple Maps proving to be far worse than the Google Maps app it replaced.

Well, we now know exactly what we're getting with iOS 7, which was unveiled at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June). Designed by Jony Ive, the system is a big departure from the current version. For starters, the interface and icons have all been completely redesigned with a 'flatter' appearance. It's certainly more modern looking.

On top of that, there are a raft of new features, including Control Center, which lets you access common settings from a swipe-up menu; a Today view in the Notification Center pull-down menu; AirDrop, which lets you transfer files via Wi-Fi to other users; a new Camera app, with new filters; and lots more.

[b]We will see iOS 7 in autumn, most likely with the iPhone 5S, but a tweaked version could come to the iPhone 6[/a]

Apple has said that iOS 7 will be released in autumn, which should nicely coincide with the launch of the iPhone 5S. With the iPhone 6, though, we're likely to get a tweaked version of the OS that introduces some new features. For example, if the rumoured NFC chip makes it to the iPhone 6, we may see a new Apple payments app.

iPHONE 6 SCREEN

Apple has been known for its high quality screens and it's going to be interesting to see what it can do with the iPhone 6, particularly as it looks like the iPhone 5S will have the same screen size and resolution as the iPhone 5.

Big-screen phones are the thing of the moment, with Samsung, Sony and HTC all opting for large, Full HD screens. Now, Apple's not one to necessarily follow what everyone else is doing, but given the demand for such phones, we wouldn't be surprised to see that the iPhone 6 has a larger display. Of course, the screen would need to be Retina, which means that you can't see the individual pixels when used at a normal viewing distance.

Currently doing the rounds are the rumours that the iPhone 6 will have a 4.8in screen, which would make the phone similar in size to the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. At this screen resolution, Apple could then move to a Full HD (1,920x1,080 resolution) or even go beyond.

While Apple has not previously made a large-screen phone, upping the screen size for the iPhone 6 makes a lot of sense. It means it can compete with the large-screen phones from other manufacturers and keep the iPhone 5S as a smaller alternative, giving iPhone users more choice.

Tim Cook has made a statement that would appear, on a first glance, to deny alarge-screen Apple iPhone 6. In Apple's most recent earnings call, Cook said:

"My view continues to be that the iPhone 5 has the absolute best display in the industry, and we always strive to create the very best display for our customers," said Cook. "Some customers value large screen size, others value other factors such as resolution, colour quality, white balance, brightness, reflectivity, screen longevity, power consumption, portability, compatibility with apps and many things.

"Our competitors had made some significant trade-offs in many of these areas in order to ship a larger display. We would not ship a larger display iPhone while these trade-offs exist."

What that statement says, to us, is that Apple won't ship a large-screen iPhone until it's managed to iron out all of the trade-offs. A thinner screen, to make a lighter phone, could well be the right way to go, then.

It's no wonder, then, that Apple may also be considering the screen technology that it uses, with a Sharp IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) screen top of the list. This new technology allows for screens that use less power and are considerably thinner. Rumours certainly picked up when the Sharp IGZO technology was demonstrated at CES 2013.

Sharp has also started manufacturing a super-sensitive touchscreen, which you can write on with a pencil and even operate with gloves on. Given Apple's relationship with Sharp, rumours have linked the new technology to the iPhone 6.

The new screen technology has eight times the sensitivity of existing models, is scratch resistant and is also thinner than existing screens. In other words, it would be hard to see why Apple wouldn't want this technology.

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 CAMERA

One of the most important part of any smartphone is the camera, with people generally preferring their phone over a compact camera. With the competition putting a lot of effort into the quality of their cameras, Apple has slightly fallen behind, with the iPhone 5's quality not matching that of the Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One.

Recent rumours, reported by MacRumours have stated that the iPhone 5S will get a 12-megapixel sensor, up from the 8-megapixel version on the iPhone 5. It stands to reason that the iPhone 6 will get the same, or better, sensor.

Upping the sensor resolution can introduce problems with noise, though, as there's less light per pixel. Apple will be keen to counteract problems like this, so a lens with a faster aperture would make sense. Currently the iPhone 5 has an f2.4 lens, but an f2.2 or f2.0 lens would mean better low-light photography.

iPHONE 6 STORAGE

In terms of storage, 64GB has been the top model for a couple of years, so we'd expect the top model to now be 128GB. We know that Apple now has that capacity, 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.

The update to the iPad 4 was a completely new model with a new price, so we'd expect the same range of capacities and prices to be available from the iPad 5: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. With Apple now using 128GB storage in its tablets, the question is whether or not it will provide the same range of capacities in its iPhone and iPad Mini range, too.

Given that the capacity is now available to Apple and that the smartphone market is even more competitive, we'd say that a 128GB version of the new phone is more than likely.

NFC

One of the omissions from the iPhone 5 was NFC, but with the technology starting to appear in most new Android phones, we'd expect this in the in iPhone 6. With Apple pushing its Passbook App, for storing store cards, tickets and coupons, integrating this with NFC would make a lot of sense.

With Apple also rumoured to be including a fingerprint sensor to secure transactions, it would make sense for the company to also launch a payments app, so that you can pay for items with your smartphone. Contactless card readers are becoming more and more popular in the UK, so the technology for receiving these payments is already there.

Apple did have a slight dig at NFC when it launched iOS 7's AirDrop feature, saying that its technology was easier than bumping phones together. However, that may be the case for transferring files, but for secure payments NFC is a must. Most likely, Apple's dig is because NFC is a technology that it currently doesn't have.

iPHONE 6 SMART BEZEL

One of the things that attracts people to the iPhone is its ease of use and simplicity. However, iOS has barely changed since launch, so Apple could well introduce new ways to interact with its phones in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Patently Apple managed to dig up information on a new patent for a smart bezel. This will use a secondary display system, which could be embedded around the primary screen or even on the back of a device to provide new controls that light up when needed.

According to Patently Apple, "Apple intends to use the secondary display to introduce a new set of illuminated indicators that would be able to morph into various controls for work and play. Illuminated gaming and productivity controls could be built into the face-side of the bezel and/or selected back-side areas of iOS devices like the iPad."

Smart bezel will use a secondary display system that illuminates controls when they're needed

That sounds pretty cool to us and could negate some of the negative point of iOS, such as having to scroll all the way to the top of an SMS thread to call the contact.

iPHONE 6 PROCESSOR

Judging what Apple will do with the processor is harder, but we'd expect an updated model in the iPhone 6. Currently the iPhone 5 has a dual-core Apple A6 processor, but a quad-core Apple A7, using ARM Cortex A15-based cores, sounds plausible to us.

It also seems more than likely that Apple will use ARM's big.LITTLE architecture. This allows a processor to have low-power cores that save on battery life, when not much CPU power is required, switching to full-power cores when more intensive tasks are required. Apple's always been hot on battery life, so this move would make sense, particularly as it's something that ARM's really pushing at the moment.

Alleged shots of the iPhone 5S have shown the internals of the phone, including an unknown processor. Obviously, you can't tell specs from a shot of a chip, but a new processor could well mean an A7 chip, which will be used in the iPhone 5S first, before making an appearance in the iPhone 6.

This alleged shot of the inside of an iPhone 5S shows an unknown processor - could it be the Apple A7?

iPHONE 6 PRICE

Apple typically releases its new models at the same price as the old ones, and we can't see it introducing a more expensive phone into this tough market. 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.