iPhone 6 Release Date, Specs, News, and Rumors: Apple Teaming Up With Sony for Enhanced Front Camera and Bezel-Free Display?
According to the latest in tech rumors, Apple's next smartphone, which will presumably be called the iPhone 6, will feature a bezel-free display and some help from Sony.
The Korea Herald reports that the iPhone 6 will have a "bezel-free" display. This would make the iPhone 6 slimmer and perhaps more capable of having the larger display screen that most rumors say are in the works. According to sources, Apple will release two different versions of the iPhone 6. Some say one model with have a 4.7-inch or 4.8-inch screen. The second model is rumored to be considered a "phablet," or a tablet and phone combination, because of its larger 5.5-inch screen.
In addition, Apple may be getting help with its iPhone 6 from Sony. According to Nikkei, Sony and Apple are currently negotiating plans to have Sony increase its supply of front camera sensors.
"The American smartphone maker apparently uses parts from suppliers in the U.S. and elsewhere for the front camera," Nikkei reports. "With more customers expected to use smartphones for video calls, it sounded out Sony, which is known for its high-definition technology, about a larger sensor supply."
Rumors also claim that Sony bought a new manufacturing plant to keep up with Apple's demand for more sensors. The facility will reportedly increase production capabilities by 25 percent and cost 35 billion yen. MacRumors, however, says that Sony's enhanced front camera sensors will not likely appear in the iPhone 6, but rather in a subsequent phone.
All of these developments have iPhone lovers excited. One user is so desperate to be the first iPhone 6 owner that he already started waiting on line, despite the fact that Apple hasn't even announced the phone yet. So if you're hoping to be the first with an iPhone 6, you will have to get in line behind Yoppy, who already started waiting in Japan.
KDB Daewoo Securities research, a South Korean firm, reports that Apple will releases its newest smartphones in the second or third quarter of this year. Other rumors suggest that Apple will debut the iPhone 6 at the Worldwide Developer's Conference in June. Based on the company's release patterns, Apple will likely release new phones to the public in the fall, one year after the release of its newest smartphones, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.