iPhone 6: All The Hardware Rumors So Far

Apple's next iPhone is always a heavily rumored affair. We gather all the whispers here and make sense of it.

iPhone 6: All The Hardware Rumors So Far

With Mobile World Congress just around the corner, rumors about new and upcoming devices are as thick as San Francisco fog. However, one company that won't be in Barcelona next week is Apple. The Cupertino-based company prefers to steer clear of these big conferencesand mass launch events, choosing instead to host their own exclusive events. That way, its news never gets lost in the flood of announcements (as if that could happen to the Apple of today).

What you may wonder, after hearing about all the new phones that are going to arrive through the spring and into the summer, is if the iPhone 6 is will match up to the MWC debutantes. Apple hasn't announced the device yet, and it's not expected to announce anything for a while. After all, the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S were just announced and released in September. Though Apple has traditionally announced new phones at WWDC in June, it's thought the switch to September refresh will carry through to this year. So what can we expect come fall?

iPhone Screen

Arguably one of the most important features of a smartphone, given it's what you'll spend all your time looking at. Apple pays special attention to its displays, adding its famed Retina Display with the introduction of the iPhone 4. Talk of the iPhone 6 display Recent rumors suggest Apple is going to use a sapphire display in the iPhone 6. The company’s new Arizona plant will produce sapphire glass, that much we know. Tim Cook confirmed it while speaking to ABC. Now, Apple already uses tiny amounts of sapphire glass for the home button and to keep the camera safe from scratches, and though it’s technically possible that this is all the company needs the new plant for, that seems highly unlikely. Word on the street says Apple will kick things up  a notch and make the entire display out of this tough material. This week, Canonical’s CEO complained that Apple had bought up a three year supply of a display Canonical wanted for the Ubuntu Edge. Apple’s either has a huge need for sapphire glass or is stockpiling for a future product while keeping the product away from its competitors. 

The iPhone 5S the biggest iPhone to date with a screen that measures four inches in size. Despite this fact, it’s still quite small compared to other current generation smartphones. Though Samsung’s Galaxy Note was considered huge not too long ago, a 5-inch phone is a fairly common sight, and Apple could go after the phablet lovers with the iPhone 6. There’s talk that Apple might ship multiple different sizes of iPhone with the iPhone 6, including a 5.5-inch version. While we think Apple is unlikely to ship so many iPhones (it wasn’t until last year that the company introduced a second iPhone to stand alongside the flagship model), it’s not outside the realm of possibility that we’ll see a larger iPhone. Steve Jobs was the one who pooh-poohed larger screen sizes and Steve isn’t around anymore. Remember when Steve said we’d need to file our fingers down for a 7-inch tablet? Yeah, us too.

iPhone CPU and SoC Chipset

The iPhone 5S was noteworthy for its 64-bit A7 chip manufactured on the 28 nm process. Given the iPhone 5S has only been on the market for six months, this chip is still a really fresh piece of technology. However, with Samsung rumored to have a 64-bit chip of its own on the way, Apple may want to up its game. No surprise then that the latest scuttlebutt points to an Apple A8 chip manufacture red on the 20 nm process powering the iPhone 6. Further talk of a 64-bit A8 points to Apple using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) to manufacturer the A8. This would be a move away from rival smartphone maker Samsung, which Apple has used for production of its chips in the past. TSMC hasn’t confirmed the news, and neither has Apple (of course).

iPhone Form Factor

So, the iPhone might have a bigger display, but that’s not to say it will be bigger over all. The rumor mill is churning out whisperings of an edge-to-edge of minimal bezel display, which could theoretically increase the size of the display without making the phone bigger. The real question is whether Apple is willing to ditch the physical home key or make it smaller. We’d say no, considering it just added fingerprint recognition with the iPhone 5S, but the home key could be reduced in size or moved to a different location on the iPhone 6. Again, that's unlikely but if Apple wants a bigger display without significantly increasing the size of the phone, this would be one way to do it. One analyst even claims to have gotten wind of such a prototype.

As far as casing is concerned, it's hard to predict what Apple will do. The iPhone 2G was metal, then the 3G brought plastic casing that continued through to the 3GS. The iPhone 4 gave us the glass backing, which was also present in the 4S. The iPhone 5 saw Apple bring back the metal with an aluminum casing, and the iPhone 5S has the same chassis. Discounting the iPhone 5C (Apple brought back the plastic we saw with the 3G but in a range of colors), Cupertino seems to introduce a new case with each full upgrade of iPhone. Word on the street is that the iPhone 6 will also feature a metal chassis, but that it will be lighter and thinner than the current iPhone 5S. 

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All New HTC One: All the Hardware Rumors So Far

All New HTC One: All the Hardware Rumors So Far

With the 2013 HTC One, HTC ditched the 'X' branding for its flagship high-end smartphone. Now, the company is preparing to launch the follow on to the HTC One. With an event scheduled for March 25, the company has been teasing us about the phone for the last couple of weeks, and leaks and rumors have told us a little about the device already. Read on for a breakdown of the upcoming HTC One refresh based on what we know already.

Processor

As is the case with a lot of flagship devices, the rumors surrounding the new HTC One kicked up not too long after the current model was released. The HTC One arrived in the U.S. late in April of 2013, but we were already talking about the next one come November. The reliable Evleaks pegged the device for a Snapdragon 800 chip. Recent benchmarks seem to support that, though we wouldn't be surprised if the device packed the same Snapdragon 801 chip that we saw in the Galaxy S5 at Mobile World Congress last month.

RAM

Rumors and benchmarks suggest we're going to get 2 GB of RAM in the new HTC One. Though that might have seemed like lots at one time, it's slowly becoming the norm for smartphones. Less than two years ago, the Galaxy S III had 1 GB of RAM, and that was considered a high-end device. Now, 1 GB or 1.5 GB seems to be reserved for 'mini' versions of flagship phones. For the record, the 2013 HTC One also had 2 GB of RAM.

Screen

More obvious than the slow upward creep of RAM in smartphones is the increase in display size. Though the original 5.3-inch Galaxy Note was considered huge in 2011, most flagship phones are now around that size, with phablets occupying the 5.7- to 6.5-inch territory. Current rumors suggest the 2014 HTC One will have a 5-inch 1080p display. This is a slight bump compared to the screen on last year's model, which measured 4.7 inches. Recent leaked photos also point to on-screen navigation buttons, which the HTC One didn't have.

Camera

One of the bigger differences you'll notice right away with the 2014 HTC One is that there are dual cameras on the rear of the device. Unlike the LG Optimus 3D, which had two cameras in order to shoot in 3D, it seems these two cameras will be working in tandem to create better photos as opposed to just 3D images. For example, they can be used to take two photos simultaneously so that you can choose which you prefer. We're eager to hear more about this feature, but we'll probably have to wait until the March event. Even the 12-minute hands on that leaked this week (embedded below) doesn't really go into too much detail on it. Evleaks posted the photo below to his Twitter account. It shows the cameras up close and in detail, but offers no information on the specs or function of each camera.

A teaser video from HTC hints that the device will be even better than its predecessor at capturing images in low light environments. This video didn't offer much in the way of details, just that it would be better than the 2013 model, which can apparently capture 300 percent more light compared to competing devices (no, HTC didn't name names on that). 

HTC One Teaser

According to GSMArena, which obtained and photo of a carrier brochure, the new camera will be called the 'Duo Camera.' This camera will allow users to choose the focus point of the photo (similar to the Lytro camera or Nokia's Camera Refocus app) and create bokeh effects. Similar to the HTC Evo 3D, the HTC One will also be able to shoot 3D.

Form factor

Thanks to a teaser from HTC, we know that the new HTC One will feature the same metal styling as the previous generation. We also know (thanks to the hands on video, that it will have the SIM slot on the opposite side, as well as a microSD slot. Though it looks largely the same as the 2013 HTC One, the video shows that there will be some changes to the chassis. The 2014 model is a darker gray color, and it also looks a little bit shinier. They're not identical, in other words, so you'll be able to tell if your friend is rocking this year's or last year's HTC One pretty easily. We can't wait to get a closer look in a few weeks' time to see how changes in specs and screen size affect the weight and thickness of the phone.

Accessories

The accessories launching alongside a new smartphone wouldn't usually be much to talk about. However, rumors indicate the HTC One may come with a very unique cover. According to Evleaks, this cover will apparently display the time and weather using colored lights. Presumably, users could also choose to display other notifications, too (such as email, missed calls, or SMS messages).

Software

Rumor has it that this phone is KitKat from launch, which is a relief. At this point, there's not much excuse for launching a phone running Android 4.2 or 4.3 when Android 4.4 has been out since October. Of course, this won't be stock Android, as HTC will be layering its own Sense UI on top. This should be Sense 6.0, but no confirmation on that until March 25. If you're more of a stock Android fan, you might be in luck. Just like last year's version of the HTC One, HTC will apparently also be releasing a Google Play Edition of the 2014 model.

In the mean time, check out this hands on video from YouTube user Nicky Perdaen, which was posted earlier this week:

HTC One Hands On

You can also check out the two teaser videos HTC posted itself. Last week's teaser focused on the phone's sound. The 2013 HTC One featured Beats audio, but it's not clear if the 2014 model will, too. This video offers zero information on the new device(consider that fair warning). Not even a glimpse. 

HTC One BoomSound

This week, HTC posted a video talking about the metal casing for the phone. Again, no real information here. The definition of a tease.

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