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Analyst suggests iPhone 6 will favor thin design over optical image stabilization, camera will be flush in chassis

iphone-6-body-UiP-03

A post on Weibo from a Chinese analyst (via GforGames) suggests that the new iPhone design will not feature a protruding camera, which would have seemingly enabled optical image stablization, as Apple has instead opted to focus on a super-thin profile for the new device.

Apple’s current line of iPhones take advantage of the embedded SoC’s processing power to enable software-based image stabilization. Whilst optical image stabilization is generally considered to be superior, it also requires the camera components to be physically much larger. According to this report, Apple does not seem to have wanted to make this tradeoff.

The report also claims the new iPhone camera will have a substantially larger pixel size, claiming 1.75 micrometers compared with 1.5 micrometers pixel size of the iPhone 5s’s camera. As Harshil Shah points out, the iPhone 4 also used a sensor with 1.75 micrometer pixels.

The track record of ESM-China with regard to Apple is unclear, but the line of argument is not completely ridiculous. Apple has apparently been demanding extraordinarily thinner battery components in its quest for device thinness. Most recently, renders pointed towards a chassis thickness of about 6mm. A case video from yesterday, coupled with slimline volume buttons, showed close similarities to the current-generation iPod touch which is 6.1mm.

On the other hand, the current iPod touch’s camera does protrude. This suggests that Apple is not opposed to exposed camera designs. Another question in regard to the iPhone 6’s camera is the flash. To date, all leaks have shown a traditional circular flash hole, which is hard to reconcile with the dual-LED design present in the current iPhone 5s.

Apple is expected to announce its new range of iPhones in the fall.

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Comments

  1. Analysts keep saying something, why don’t they just shut up and let us wait for the real deal.

    • Jan Klaassen - 10 years ago

      And every website on the internet keeps on posting all this kind of nonsense. I wished websites stopped posting rumors and predictions, but instead just post news. If media didn’t pay any attentions those analist would finally shut up and we could just wait. Then Apple would announce a new product and everyone would be amazed. Much better for us and much better for Apple. Nowadays the wow factor is completely gone. Most of the times it’s even disappointment, because we’ve been reading for months about what’s coming and then it turns out to be just a minor upgrade. Remember the rumors about a bigger phone with rounded glass (not that I wanted this) and Apple released the iPhone 4s and everyone was disappointed? Analist should find a proper job, instead of looking predicting. Websites should stop posting these kind of things. I want the surprises to come back. I want the wow factor to come back.

  2. rogifan - 10 years ago

    More meaningless speculation not worthy for rumor sites, especially since most of it doesn’t make much sense.

  3. Pzee Pzee - 10 years ago

    Apple needs to get over this unhealthy fascination and lust for thinner iOS devices. Was anyone complaining about the profile of the 5s? Just give us a larger 5s with 2-3 day battery, rather than an 6mm 1day battery phone, which we might have to wrap round a case for better ergonomics and usability.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Everyone uses cases. You know literally absolutely nothing about batteries, and they do. What does a larger screen mean? Larger device size. What does a larger device size mean? More room for a bigger battery. What’s better, more surface area, or a thicker battery? You have absolutely not the slightest idea.

      Leave it to the people that know what they are doing.

      P.S. You don’t need an iPhone to last 2 days, because unless you are an insomniac (not the vast majority of people), you go to sleep and while you’re sleeping your phone is charging. It’s not that hard to comprehend.

      • Michael Perry - 10 years ago

        What’s better, EIS or OIS? Well I’ll tell you, OIS is better and regarded as better by the entire industry. The ENTIRE industry, hands down; no debate, no opinions differing, the entire industry knows and accepts that OIS is better. If the phone is so thin that they can’t execute OIS as a part of it’s features then it’s too thin and should be made to allow room for OIS. Point blank.

      • Nathan Pritchard - 10 years ago

        o0smoothies0o, I’m not sure exactly how you know that everyone’s opinions about what they need or want are wrong. What’s better for Pzee Pzee, a battery that just lasts long enough for him to get to sleep at a normal time but only if he remembers to plug in his phone every night, or one that will last all day at work plus long enough for him to go out with friends after, take videos at a concert, run GPS long enough to get to a campsite on the other side of the state, read an ebook in bed and get to work the next morning? Answer: you have no idea.

        I just replaced the battery on my 18-month-old iPhone 5 and my typical run-time-until-phone-death went from 12-16 hours to 24-36 hours. It feels like a whole new phone, and it is a huge relief knowing that it will be up for whatever is needed for a full day of use and then some even if I don’t have the opportunity to or remember to plug it in at a reasonable bed-time. I don’t have to remember to carry a stupid charging cable with me if I’m going to actually use my phone for something after work.

        This feels different from when I first got this phone, but I don’t know if there have been some iOS improvements that were previously swamped by my degrading battery (which also got exposed to extremely cold temps a few times, which I think contributed to my problem) or just my bad memory. But I firmly believe that if Apple can improve the initial battery life even 25% over what they have typically been doing, and especially if the battery technology has minimal degradation over time, this will make a huge difference in user experience for a lot of people who may not even know they want this. While taking apart my phone to replace the battery, I saw first hand how small the motherboard is and how thick the display assembly is. If they can keep a similar motherboard size and end up with a thinner display assembly, then they should be able to put in a taller and wider battery that is not too much thinner, so could have same-or-better volume and obviously much more surface area. If the display is also less power hungry per pixel based on generational improvements, then there is a chance that they will end up with at least some small improvement battery life. I am hopeful…

        Also, of the dozen or so people I work with that have iPhones, only about half of them use cases, and I frequently see nude iPhones in the wild. So no, everyone doesn’t use cases, although I do.

      • Michael Perry - 10 years ago

        Additionally, I’ve never used a case before. Not on a single one of my phones and I’ve owned every iPhone to date.

      • Michael Perry - 10 years ago

        Nathan, what battery did you use to replace yours?

      • Nathan Pritchard - 10 years ago

        Michael: I ordered the battery+tools kit from ifixit and did the repair myself using the video and step-by-step guide on their site. Identical to the original battery as far as I could tell. I didn’t look at the date code on mine, but when I ordered a second battery to do my wife’s iPhone 5, I noticed it was mfg’d in August 2012! Both of us are quite pleased with the results.

        I will never use an iPhone without a case for any length of time until they invent an invisible force field that protects it from damage from drops. I’ve carried iPhones for about 4 years now and I easily would have destroyed them multiple times without cases. To each his or her own. :) I go with a simple bumper case to minimize the bulk. I don’t think it negatively affects the appearance too much.

  4. Lagax (@Lagax_) - 10 years ago

    Can you just stop talking these ‘analysts’ serious? It’s spam I don’t wanna hear. We all know what the iPhone 6 will be like, we all saw what it looks like!

  5. Dan (@danmdan) - 10 years ago

    Of course – maybe what has leaked really is the design for a new iPod Touch – anyone ever consider that ?
    While the new iPhone 6 will have the usual design as on the 5 and 5S. Now there’s a thought.

  6. dksmidtx - 10 years ago

    It is so amusing to read comments here (and at most other sites) criticizing the bloggers for reporting EVERY shred of a rumor, when in fact those same complainers keep coming back, like moths to a flame, to read those same baseless rumors…

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Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.