Japan’s Nikkei Predicts Two iPhone 6 Models Coming in September


There’s one thing we know for sure: Apple will definitely make an iPhone 6. There’s another thing we know mostly for sure: Apple will probably be releasing it sometime between now and 2015. Other than that, it’s all rumor and speculation, but that doesn’t stop us from scrutinizing every new ounce of possible information for some bit of truth or insight.

Today’s no exception. A report out of Jappan’s Nikkei newspaper says that the timetable for the iPhone 6’s production pegs its release window as slated for this September. If true, that might dash the hopes of Apple enthusiasts who want to see CEO Tim Cook unveiling the device at this June’s WWDC. The report is based on the plans of Apple’s LCD panel suppliers, whose nearing readiness provided us with rumors last week that the iPhone 6 was entering production momentarily. But this time around, those manufacturers have offered up some more details other than an estimated timetable.

Is this photo of the iPhone 6’s digitizer the real deal? Hopefully we’ll know this summer.

Apparently, the iPhone 6 will come in two different sizes: 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. That confirms earlier reports we’ve heard lots of times before. The fact that these rumors won’t die, and seem to come from sources with ties to production itself, seems to indicate that we might want to seriously consider moving the “two iPhone 6s” theory from “rumor” to “fact.”

But that isn’t all. The report claims that manufacturers are working on fingerprint sensors as well, and that it’ll feature higher resolution than its predecessors to go along with its increased screen size. That jives with yet another rumor we’ve heard, this one from just a few days ago.

So what’s it all mean? I think by now we should count a few of these ongoing rumors as confirmed: the iPhone 6 will be bigger than its earlier incarnations. It’ll come in two sizes. It’ll have a bigger resolution. It’ll be coming out in late-summer, early-autumn. It’ll feature the Healthbook app as a big selling point. It will sell a billion units.

That last one might be the only exaggeration—but not by much.

Are you excited about the iPhone 6? Or are you eyeing the HTC One M8? Or maybe the Samsung Galaxy S5? Or perhaps you’re holding out hope that you’ll be able to buy a crazy-pants Amazon smartphone with six friggin’ cameras? Let us know in the comments.

[Source: Nikkei via CNET]