Apple iPhone 6 Release Date Nears: Features We’ll Probably See

It won’t be long now before Apple announces the new iPhone models  for this autumn. The announcement will take place on September 10th and we will then see the announcement for the iPhone 5S and the new budget iPhone. The latter has been known by many names across the internet including Phone 6, iPhone Light, and iPhone 5C. Many believe this new release will simply be called the new iPhone and won’t go by any particular name. This will follow the iPad trend which saw its third generation release this year. But to make it easier to distinguish between the two new devices we’ll simply call the budget iPhone, “iPhone6″ for now.

Naturally, most of the media attention will be pointed at the iPhone 5S. This device will feature most of the new technologies that Apple has to offer, but even so the budget iPhone 6 won’t fade away in its shadow and will most likely have its own distinctive features. There has been talk for more than a year now about this handset and rumors have piled up along with leaked pictures to give us a better view of what we are to expect from this month’s release.

But before we go into the specs and features of this new device, it is only fair that you know that the iPhone 6 is  a concept that most analysts believe is aimed at people with lower-income and emerging markets such as China and India. These markets have been out of reach so far for Apple because most people living there couldn’t afford the high-end devices. And one particular market that Apple is trying to get into is that of China, as CEO Tim Cook  has made several visits there this year in hopes of making a deal with China Mobile Ltd, which is at the moment the largest telecommunications carrier in the world. It has over 703 million subscribers which would give Apple quite the benefits over its competitors. So this might be one of the more plausible reasons why Apple wants to produce a cheaper iPhone 6 in order to strike a deal with China Mobile and nd join the company’s vast TD-LTE network.

So now that you know all this we can introduce a few features you are to expect from the iPhone 6.

First off it will be made of plastic. A plastic exterior at least. The form factor will be a plastic and less scratchy and is expected to have many of the same features as the iPhone 5 but with a major difference in the form factor. So this will mean that the body of the iPhone 5, which is an anodized aluminum one will be replaced by a cheaper, albeit sturdier and more scratch-proof, polycarbonate shell. It is said that this handset will be something that will combine the 4-inch screen of the iPhone 5. the tapered bottom of the latest iPod touch and features of the iPod classic. And although we are most likely to see a budget iPhone made from plastic it is said that the chassis will also be made out of metal combined with hybrid plastic. In addition to this, much like the iPhone 5, the iPhone 6 will have a flat, centered SIM card tray on the right side of the phone. And also, similar to the iPod touch, the new device will resemble in terms of locations of the camera, microphone and rear flash

Secondly, the iPhone 6 will have the same specs as the iPhone 5 and thus the same performance. It will include a 4-inch Retina display at 326 ppi, an A6 chip, a FaceTime HD camera and an 8-megapixel rear side camera. We have been able to catch a glimpse of the camera in allegedly leaked photos of the iPhone 6 components.

Thirdly, the iPhone 6 will come in five candy colors. This will be the major difference between the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 5. The new polycarbonate enclosure will be available in five colors: red, green, yellow, blue and white as opposed to the two silver and slate color options from the iPhone 5. Leaked photos showed the new device with a black front and very colorful rear shell. But it won’t be surprising if Apple includes white or color front-face options as well.

Fourthly, the iPhone 6 will come with a pre-loaded with iOS 7. Even though, the hardware seems to be getting more attention from the media than the software, the operating system is one of the major attractions as it is vital for the  iPhone experience. This year the operating system has been completely revamped with new icons, style, textures and features and the iOS ecosystem that provided a similar and familiar yet an entirely new experience altogether. This release along with the release of the iOS7 will give a big cosmetic upgrade to the iPhone line. It will bring many new features and tools and hopefully be one of Apple’s most successful iOS release to date.

Noticeably one of the new iOS 7 features: The useful Control Center that consists of fast access to special configurations; the built-in parallax that changes the backdrop image as a result of one’s actions; a different way to multitask applications; the AirDrop feature for discussing and sharing photos or documents with with other Apple iPhone customers in the area plus much more. You can find additional information on iOS 7 online, in visual guides available for the iOS 7 that will help you understand more about the brand new design, let you take a look at some surprise features that have been discovered in the initial iOS 7 beta release, plus a collection of 80-plus screenshots of iOS 7.

Last but not least, it will be affordable. Clearly, the main feature of this specific Apple iPhone release will not be its form factor, or its specs, but instead its cost (plus its availability in five colors, which aids the iPhone 6 get noticed). Many initially predicted Apple would release the iPhone 6 in the same price range as the iPhone 4, that is presently being offered for $0 if you consider having a two-year contract within the U.S., or for about $490 in China. Now, these iPhone 6 cost gossips appeared to be confirmed with a prominent poster on China’s social networking Sina Weibo, “C Technology,” who also stated the new handset will release in the same price range as the iPhone 4. KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo, that has an amazing track record predicting Apple’s product pipeline, also predicted (via MacRumors) that the iPhone 6 would release in a price range between $450 and $550 off-contract, which may get in line with the latest gossip that has circled on the internet.

If these price rumors truly are accurate, Apple will probably be replacing its cost strategy across all Apple iPhone lines. As the new iPhone 5S is said to cost $199 if you consider having a two-year contract, last year’s iPhone 5 may drop its cost to $99 on-contract, and also the iPhone 4S from 2011 may cost the same as the plastic iPhone 6 at $0 on-contract. Some gossips predicted that Apple would get rid of the iPhone 5 from the iPhone selection using the discharge of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S, but given the way we believe the iPhone 6 will not release with all the same specs as the iPhone 5, we feel last year’s model will still exist and will not be stopped at this time. This might be the very first year, however, that Apple removes the most popular iPhone, the iPhone 4 from the U.S. selection.

 iPhone 6: Just When Is The Release Date?

We initially predicted that Apple would expose the iOS 7 on September the 10th and release the operating-system a few days afterwards on September the 18th. Since Apple has a pattern in releasing its latest iPhone 2 days following the release date of their latest iOS, we predicted Apple will put out at least one of their two new iPhones on September the 20th.

Kuo lately stated (via MacRumors) that Apple will introduce its iPhone 5S not much after the release of the budget iPhone 6 in September because of supply constraints, but we feel Apple will have the ability to launch both new devices on a single day, that being September the 20th. Apple has also apparently restricted vacation for employees between September the 15th and the 28th, while T-Mobile has implemented vacation blackouts between September the 20th and September the 22nd, based on information gathered from TmoNews. All rumors and unconfirmed information appear to suggest one September 20th release date for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S.

So what is your opinion on all this? Will you really consider buying an iPhone 6 over Apple’s other more high-end devices, even if it means compromising some key user features to avoid wasting money? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.