It’s that time of year again. Apple is all set to reveal its next-gen iPhone on Wednesday, which will be live-streamed on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV.
If rumours are to be believed, the Cupertino tech giant is expected to launch its new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It is rumored that the company might launch a cheaper variant iPhone 6c at the event.
In trademark enigmatic style, invitations provided little more than the time and place of the event, to be held at the spacious Bill Graham Civic Auditorium near city hall.
A line on the invite reading: “Hey Siri, give us a hint,” led many to believe that virtual assistant software Siri, which is built into Apple devices, will help people find shows or movies on Apple TV.
What to expect from iPhone 6S & 6s Plus
New iOS
Well, the feature is getting a lot smarter in iOS 9, the new iOS for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, with the new Proactive feature adding a Google Now-like layer of active functionality.
Force Touch
The 2015 iPhones are also expected to gain the Force Touch feature first introduced with the Apple Watch, allowing for new gestures that incorporate pressure sensitivity, and improved Touch ID to make fingerprint recognition faster.
Force Touch could add a new dimension to the phone by using tiny electrodes that not only recognize touch, but also force.
More Powerful Camera
If the rumours are true, Apple is putting a big focus on camera upgrades for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. According to Apple rumour blog 9to5Mac, the back camera – which Apple calls the iSight camera – will be upgraded to 12 megapixels on both models.
This will be the first time since the iPhone 4s launched in 2011 that the camera’s megapixel count will be upgraded.
Screen Size
Screen sizes will remain at 4.7 and 5.5 inches. Though the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are expected to retain the same design as iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the addition of Force Touch and 7000 series aluminum could slightly change the thickness and the dimensions of the iPhones.
Display
Sapphire glass – a scratch resistant material used in screens – is another possible feature. It was widely slated for an appearance on the iPhone 6 but manufacturing problems reportedly got in the way. The lock screen could import the animated screensavers of the Apple Watch.
Processor
There could also be a new processor – the A9 – produced by Samsung. It will be smaller, faster and use less power, just as you’d expect from a new chip. The current A8 series use a 20nm process and the new ones would use 14nm. RAM is also likely to be upgraded to 2GB from the current 1GB.
New Colour
Everyone went nuts when Apple first introduced the gold colour option on the iPhone 5s. But now it’s rumoured that a new colour is also likely to emerge – Rose Gold. Meanwhile, some reports also said the new colour option might be “pink.”
Other Features
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will continue to offer features that have become integral to the iPhone, including NFC for Apple Pay, 802.11ac Wi-Fi capabilities, LTE Advanced which will be packed in 2 GB RAM .
The two new phones will likely be available in the same 16, 64, and 128GB storage options as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Apple will unveil the iPhone at a media event at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, on September 9. Pre-orders, if accepted, will follow on September 11, with an official launch likely happening on September 18.
watchOS 2
Alongside iOS 9 will hopefully sit a watchOS 2 announcement, which brings much-awaited features to Apple’s latest product, the Apple Watch. The key features of watchOS 2 include the ability for third-party apps to run natively on the Apple Watch, a feature that will hopefully speed up interaction with the Watch and will mean less time staring at a black screen with a loading icon.
Third-party apps will also be able to make use of the variety of sensors and hardware available on the Apple Watch, which should mean a wave of more helpful and intuitive Apple Watch apps.
iPad Mini
As for the iPad, there are mixed things. Reports point to a new iPad Mini, but not necessarily an iPad Air 3 (or other full-sized model), and the long-rumoured 12.9-inch iPad Pro is reported to be coming at a later date.
Apple TV
Though we’ve been hearing rumours about a new Apple TV for some time now, sources close with apple’s plans have told Buzzfeed that we can finally expect to see the device unveiled in September, at the iPhone announcement.