Apple iPhone 6 Fever Begins Now

UPDATE: iPhone 5 Released

Even though the next incarnation of the iPhone isn’t expected until this summer, I’m going to get the conversations going now! However, a different name isn’t going to make or break the new device. What we need/want are major changes. Most of the iPhone community was able to resist the urge to upgrade from the iPhone 4 to the 4S in hopes that this summer will produce a more viable option for spending their ‘upgrade option.’ In fact, I’m one of those very users. I even went so far as to get off my iPhone 4 early enough to sell it before the 4S arrived. I decided in the meantime, I would use a Samsung Focus and wait to see what I wanted to do.

Now that I miss my iPhone 4, I’m really tempted to just process my upgrade option to get the 4S, but given all this talk about the new device, I think I can wait until this summer. Speaking of which, I’m pretty sure that almost everyone who upgraded to a 4S destroyed their chances of getting a discounted upgrade. Who knows…AT&T has always been pretty lenient with their customers so maybe the other carriers will follow suit.

Name

As I mentioned, I don’t think the name matters much, but I’m under the impression that the next phone will be called iPhone 6 while everyone else seems to think it’ll be iPhone 5. I can see why most people would think that. The last 4 models have all carried a number with it and the most logical number after 4 is 5, but if you think about it, since iPhone 4 was the 4th model wouldn’t that make iPhone 4S the fifth model? And since that is true, wouldn’t the next model be the sixth?

Another possibility for a name would be iPhone LTE given that the new device is supposed to be LTE compatible.

Design

As with every new iPhone (or Apple product), the design has always been a hotly debated issue among the fan base. This element is so important that many bloggers and techies out there create rumors by designing mock ups of what they think the device should look like. Personally, I feel like some of these designs are even better than what Apple produces!! Yet, there are some that just aren’t practical by any means.

Taking a look at the design to the right, who would even want a phone like that?! You can see right through it. What would Angry Birds look like on a clear device?! Besides, anyone who’s ever seen the inside of an iPhone (or any phone) would know that unless they can make every component clear, this design will never happen.

One very interesting design that I actually liked was one where the phone is worn like a wrist watch. A virtual screen is then emitted from the device onto your hand and it’s from there that you actually make phone calls and play games! Not only would this seem very strange, but I’m sure the battery life would be about a few minutes if that. As cool as this device might be, let’s face it…who would really want to make phone calls and play games off of a device that isn’t really there? I’m not a big fan of all this hologram stuff, but if I were to use it for something practical, it would only be to display video.

Specs

Of course, nobody will know much about actual device specifications until we inch closer to actual release date, but it doesn’t hurt to start guessing now! At the very least, we can expect a new processor. iPhone 6 will most likely use an A6 processor and could have dual-core support. The LCD screen would likely be a thinner and lighter version of what’s in use now. There’s no telling how much better the Retina display can get, but if anyone can improve on something that is already amazing, it would be Apple!

The usual updates would also include a better camera, perhaps a 10MP? If Apple follows along with Android IceCream Sandwhich, we should be seeing some facial recognition or maybe even fingerprint identification! I would also bet that the storage space will be increased. The 4S has brought us the first major increase with the 64GB model. I wouldn’t be surprised if the new lineup consisted of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models.

My two cents

Since it’s so early in the year to be accurately guessing phone specs and design elements, I can’t promise anything I mentioned above is true! What I can say is that I’m on the verge of switching from iPhone to go with the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung. This would be the first major phone change for me since 2007 as I’ve always been on an iPhone. What is causing me to change my mind is the lack in features and updates that Apple has left out of almost every iPhone when compared to an Android equivalent appearing at the same time. The advantage that Apple has obtained is that they can sit back and watch what the competition does before launching a new device. But is this a safe play at the the expense of the users?

Moreover, now that Steve Jobs has sadly passed away, how will the face of Apple change? One could say that part of the magic and certainly the mystique of Apple has been directly attributed to Steve himself. Above that, if lead product designer Jonathan Ive were to leave Apple, as it was rumored shortly before Steve left us, then what could happen to the overall design style at Apple? Only time will tell.