Is a Faster, “Force Touch” iPhone 6s in the Works?

If rumors are to be believed, Apple has about two-dozen different iPhone configurations in the works at any given moment, and only releases the ones they deem worthy twice a year or so. Case in point, a new rumor on Macrumors today purports that Apple may be working on a faster iPhone 6 with something called “Force Touch” technology slated for release sometime in the near future.

The post cites information gleaned from a recent report on TechNews Taiwan (originally printed in Chinese), saying that the so-called iPhone 6s will sport faster LPDDR4 RAM modules, doubling the RAM from 1 GB to 2 GB. The new iPhones would also be packed with improved A9 processors and “a dual-lens DSLR quality camera.”

Interestingly, the report also claims that the new iPhones would also feature the same kind of differentiated haptic feedback as the forthcoming Apple Watch, which it’s calling “Force Touch” technology. That should help the device understand the difference between a quick tap and a “more forceful press.” While that’s not too revolutionary on its own, different kinds of taps could create a new UI language that might achieve widespread appeal on non-Apple devices.

It wouldn’t be the first time; Apple created the “pinch-to-zoom” gesture that has become pretty much standard on smart-devices across platforms. The gesture (among others) was the subject of a long-running patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if Force Touch similarly found its way into other gadgets too.

Of course, let’s take this whole “iPhone 6s” thing with a big pinch of salt. It wasn’t too long ago that sources out of Asia said that Apple was making a teenier version of the iPhone 6 for ladies – reports that were later negated by equally unsubstantiated reports out of Asia. All in all, it’s anybody’s guess as to what we’ll actually see coming out of Apple over the next year. It stands to reason that it’ll provide some kind of refresh of the iPhone 6 line, as it’s done with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 for years already. An iPhone 6s, or 6C, or 6X or whatever is completely within the realm of possibility. The only real question is what features would they want to cram into it that users are missing out of the current iteration. And when it comes to RAM, yeah, I’d say users would be into 2 GB over 1 GB.

[Source: Macrumors]