iPhone 6

French site NWE claims to have found photos of a finished production model of the casing of the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6, shown in gray.

While not revealing anything new about the overall design of the phone, it does appear to give a much clearer view of how the antenna breaks are handled, with a significantly more subtle appearance than had been suggested by some earlier leaked parts, mockups and renders – as seen in the photo below … 
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Apple is reportedly planning to include NFC in the iPhone 6 for secure wireless payments using chips sourced from a Dutch company called XNP, the Financial Times reported today. It’s not the first time this rumor has cropped up before an iPhone launch, but other recent reports seem to indicate that this year it might just be happening.

In fact, earlier this year Apple was said to have reached a deal with China UnionPay, the nation’s only domestic mobile payment processor, to include NFC support at countless retailers in the next iPhone. What’s perhaps even more interesting is that the technology may not be limited solely to the handset itself…

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In addition to officially announcing its special event to be held on September 9th where two new iPhones and the long rumored wearable device is expected to debut, Apple has begun to build some sort of structure at the Flint Center for Performing Arts in Cupertino, California, as noted in our previous post. Additional images of the venue and mysterious structure have been shared by The Loop which reveal more sides to the structure as you can see above…

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An investment note we’ve seen from analyst and GTAT investor Matt Margolis claims that all 5.5-inch models of the iPhone 6 will come with sapphire screens, while the 4.7-inch model will get either sapphire or Gorilla Glass depending on the specification.

According to sources close to Foxconn’s manufacturing operations the iPhone 6 will come built with sapphire cover screens in both sizes. These sources have also indicated that the 4.7” Phone 6 is being assembled in two varieties, a sapphire cover screen version and a version featuring Gorilla Glass. At this point I do not know the approximate mix between the two cover screen options on the 4.7” iPhone 6. My latest check on the 5.5” iPhone 6 indicates that all units of the device are expected to come protected by a sapphire cover screen at this point …

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WIRED is the latest publication to report that the soon-to-be-announced iPhone 6 will be accompanied by a new mobile payment system using NFC technology.

The company’s next iPhone will feature its own payment platform, sources familiar with the matter told WIRED. In fact, that platform will be one of the hallmark features of the device when it’s unveiled on September 9. We’re told the solution will involve NFC.

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In the latest round of iPhone 6 images, NowhereElse.fr has a new set of photos showing a selection of SIM trays, home buttons, speakers and vibrator motors. The SIM trays are once again show in the same three colors as the iPhone 5s, silver, gray and gold. It seems like the gray is of a slightly lighter shade than the Space Gray of the iPhone 5s, but the quality of the pictures makes it difficult to tell for sure. What is very noticeable is the curved edge to the SIM tray, which will make a seamless line with the iPhone 6’s curved edges, seen countless times before. The images also depict some changes to the speaker and vibrator motor of the device …

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via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/EA_Roa" target="_blank">@EA_Roa</a>

Last month Re/code’s John Paczkowski reported that Apple plans to introduce its new iPhone models at an event scheduled for next month, and today Re/code’s Paczkowski reports that Apple will also reveal its wearable product (i.e. iWatch/iBand) alongside the new iPhones:

Apple now plans to unveil a new wearable alongside the two next-generation iPhones we told you the company will debut on September 9th. […] The new device will, predictably, make good use of Apple’s HealthKit health and fitness platform. It will also — predictably — make good use of HomeKit, the company’s new framework for controlling connected devices — though it’s not clear how broadly or in what way.

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New photos of what appear to be the True Tone flash components for both versions of the iPhone 6 have appeared on ElekWorld, providing even more evidence that Apple is planning to announce and release both models at around the same time. Interestingly, the website also carries a whole host of purported iPhone 6 parts, including front display panels, volume rockers, and home button assemblies.

Apple, of course, is expected to announce a redesigned 4.7″ iPhone 6 and a 5.5″ iPhone 6L on September 9th. We’ve seen part and design leaks for both of these models in recent months, and both variants recently entered mass production.

Check out the gallery below for even more images of the site’s claimed iPhone 6 and 6L parts:

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We’re 2 short weeks away from Apple’s iPhone 6 announcement and that of course means it is almost time to trade in your current but now outdated tiny iPhone 3/4/5/s/c. Giving your non-sapphire 4-incher to a friend or relative? That’s nice of you but for those in the US who prefer cold hard cash, there are lots of great options out there.

In years past, we’ve put together roundups (2013, 2012) that include 12 different options but things change pretty quickly so we wait right until launch week to update ours.  This year, Statista compared the major US trade in options out there two weeks ahead of time to find the best pricing.

The TL;DR is that Amazon gives you the most credit for an iPhone across all carriers and models and we’ve had good success here using Amazon. Additionally, Amazon credit for most of us is almost as good as cash (compared to say Best Buy where we might not be making another electronics purchase in the near future). That said, Amazon doesn’t offer the iPhone directly as a purchase and many folks will prefer to use the credit to directly buy their next iPhone.

As for cash money options, Glyde and NextWorth seem to be the winners with Gazelle bringing up the rear in most cases (Gazelle is offering a price lock which might be driving down their current offer).

Stay tuned for our launch day guide and see results for all carriers as of yesterday below:
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We’ve seen hundreds of iPhone 6-related part leaks, rumors, and claims, and of course lots of comparison photos. Below, via Yaya888 and Gizmobic, we have the latest. These shots compare the iPhone 5 to the space gray 4.7-inch physical iPhone 6 model. The new phone is expected to be introduced on September 9th.

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Following the USB power adapter redesign rumors, we’ve now received word that Apple’s new reversible Lightning to USB cable may not be ready in time to ship with the iPhone 6. According to third-party Apple retailer Moca.co, Apple has yet to place orders for the reversible cable from its manufacturing partner…

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Recently an image of what’s claimed to be Apple’s redesigned US 5W USB power adapter surfaced on Weibo (via Gizmobic). This alleged new design, isn’t actually that new to everyone though. Australia currently has a very similar USB power adapter in terms of shape and size…

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Reuters is reporting that iPhone 6 production was disrupted for part of June and July after Apple was forced to abandon its plans to use a thinner display backlighting system in the new handset.

Suppliers to Apple are scrambling to get enough screens ready for the new iPhone 6 smartphone as the need to redesign a key component disrupted panel production ahead of next month’s expected launch, supply chain sources said …

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If you thought things were messy with U.S. networks, Verizon and Sprint using CMDA and AT&T and T-Mobile using GSM, things are even worse in China – with WCDMA, CDMA2000, CDMA1X, GSM, TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE all in use by different carriers in different combinations.

The iPhone 6 may be about to make life a whole lot easier, though, with Sina (via ZDNet) reporting that the model sold by China Telecom at least will support all of the wireless networks in use in the country, based on a Weibo post by the carrier. Admittedly the image used in the Weibo above looks a little different than the general consensus we’ve seen before – they were created by Tomas Moyano and Nicolàs Aichino, and China Telecom likely downloaded them from Bēhance.

That aside, the message they are sending might be more interesting…

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French site iGen has posted what it claims are screenshots from Foxconn, which – if genuine – confirm a number of details from earlier reports, and to reveal the dimensions of prototypes of both iPhone 6 models. The screenshots appear to be fuller versions of the raised camera schematic posted by Apple Club Taiwan a couple of days ago.

It should be noted that there is no way to know when these prototypes were created (though some photos appear to date back to February), and that dimensions of the production model could change. The 4.7-inch model (code-named N61) is shown as measuring 138.14x97x6.9mm, while two different 5.5-inch prototypes (code-named N56) are shown, the larger of them measuring 158.07×77.79×7.1mm. The codenames are consistent with ones we’ve seen before, but are well-known so this is not evidence that the screenshots are genuine … 
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A new set of job listings noticed by LightReading continue to show Apple’s focus on implementing VoLTE, or voice-over-LTE, support for including high quality call quality on new iPhones.

Specifically, the job listings seek both a Cellular Systems Protocol Engineer with hands-on experience in wireless technologies including VoLTE and an iOS Wireless Communication Software Engineer with “SIP, RTP, and VoIP related protocols”, showing the company is continuing to beef up its expertise around the technology.

9to5Mac first reported that Apple is targeting voice-over-LTE support for iOS 8 and future iPhone models earlier this year in April: 
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New photos leaked online today claim to show the body of the upcoming 5.5-inch iPhone, recently dubbed the “iPhone 6L” in another leak. The parts in the images are said to have come directly from Apple’s supply chain, though that claim is obviously quite difficult to verify. The design of the body matches up with previous leaks (more photos below the break).

Apple is reportedly working on two similar versions of the iPhone 6 for release this fall, likely following an announcement on September 9th. Each model will be larger than the current iPhone 5s, coming in at 4.7 and 5.5 inches, respectively. The device will sport a sapphire crystal display, which we’ve seen on video in recent months, though some sources claim that only the 5.5-inch variant will get that specific upgrade.

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A claimed schematic of the 4.7-inch model of the iPhone 6 appears to support suggestions that the camera lens will protrude, though only by 0.77mm. Posted by Apple Club in Taiwan, it appears to show a 7mm thick casing with the thickest part of the camera extending 0.77mm beyond this.

Suggestions that the quest for thinness might result in an iPod Touch-style protruding camera lens on the iPhone 6 date back to March, and have been supported by claimed backplate photos as recently as this month. There have, though, been conflicting reports, with one suggestion that Apple would be able to avoid this by restricting optical image stabilization to the larger 5.5-inch model … 
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Early this year, we heard from a source that Apple had been testing multiple resolutions for the iPhone 6’s larger display, including a resolution of 960 x 1704. As we outlined, the benefit of that resolution is that it allows both developers and consumers to smoothly transition to the new display without losing high-quality imagery and graphics found in many applications from the App Store. At that density on both a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display (the two larger screen sizes for the next iPhone), all content would display larger in comparison to the current, 4-inch iPhone, but there would not be more actual screen real estate. Now, we’ve discovered another potential iPhone 6 screen resolution by way of iOS 8 files inside of the latest Xcode 6 Software Development Kit (SDK) betas for developers.

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Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty is advising investors that now is the time to buy AAPL shares – and not just because the iPhone 6 is on the way.

Huberty gives eight reasons (via BusinessInsider) for believing that the price of AAPL stock is likely to increase. None of them are new, but the combined effect is persuasive, she argues … 
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