Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 later this year in at least two different sizes and with all manner of new-generation hardware upgrades.
We’re well into the countdown stages to Apple’s long-awaited iPhone 6 right now – a device which give the competition already doing the rounds has its work cut out.
It’s usually safe to say that Apple’s iconic Smartphone has a pretty easy run on the whole. Even in the years when the Cupertino folk have decided to go with the most modest of incremental upgrades, it seemed like little to nothing could prevent the iPhone from flying off the shelves in record numbers.
This year however may be slightly different, if for no other reason than competition across the Android market has never been stronger. The recent introduction of the LG G3…albeit limited to specific Eastern markets…drove the point home that 2014’s Smartphone standards have taken a quantum leap forward. QHD touchscreens have stepped in to replace 1080p HD, single-digit camera megapixel counts are yesterday’s news and when it comes to the display panel size, bigger is apparently better.
As such, and even without a single world from Apple on the subject, it’s perfectly possible to put together a pretty accurate picture of what to expect from the iPhone 6 this time around. That is, assuming it’s going to have any real chance of holding its own against Android rivals.
Larger Screens, Two Sizes
First and foremost, it’s relatively common knowledge that Apple’s 2014 iPhone will launch in two decidedly different variants. Along with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, analysts also expect to see an unannounced 5.5-inch iPhone Air hit the mix before the end of the year. As the very first device the firm has ever put out that would effectively qualify as a Phablet, it’s largely a given that the iPhone Air would/will prove enormously successful simply for being the first of its kind.
2K or QHD Touchscreens
And as mentioned above, Apple really has little choice other than to ensure touchscreen quality is taken up to at least the 2K mark, in order to live up to the new QHD standard the Android market is already dipping its tow into. And just for the record, that’s a sizeable 2,048 by 1,440 pixels, meaning an iPad pixel count squeezed into a much smaller screen.
Heart Rate Monitor
Will Apple follow the example of Samsung and bake a heart rate monitor into the iPhone 6? Analysts seem to think so, not least because the new Health Book app set to debut with iOS 8 will play such a crucial role in taking the iPhone experience as a whole to the next level and beyond.
Upgraded Camera
Apple’s decision to stick with an 8-megapixel camera with the iPhone 5S initially didn’t go down too well, but when they showed what they could do with it, most critics backed down. This time however, to once again keep things at the 8-megapixel mark would be somewhat absurd given the 16-to-20-megapixels now setting the standard for the high-end Android market.
Water Proofing
And finally, far too many iPhones are still meeting their makers in a rather watery way the world over, while top-players in the Android camp and flying out fully water-proofed. Far from just a gimmick for those who take Facebook in the bath with them, water-proofing is again becoming something of a standard no self-respecting flagship phone would be seen without.