iPhone 6 Release Date, Rumors, Features & Concept: Apple Dropping iPhone Name for New Sapphire Glass Large Screen Phablet?

For weeks, rumors have speculated that Apple will release two smartphones called the iPhone 6 this year. According to a new report, however, the larger phone of the two will not have the iPhone name at all.

Economic Daily News, a Chinese source, is providing some surprising iPhone news. It has long been rumored that Apple will release two phones this year, one of which will have such a large display size that it will be considered a phone and tablet combination, or a "phablet." According to Economic Daily News, this "experimental" phablet will not be considered an iPhone. The source did not clarify what it would be called.

Some sources question whether or not Apple will really stray away from the trustworthy iPhone label. BGR calls the rumor "a dubious claim considering the popularity of the iPhone brand."

The report continued by saying that Apple's phablet will have a 5.6-inch screen, which is just an inch smaller than other rumors. The device will also reportedly come with the sapphire glass that Apple has been exploring.

Recently, it was reported that Apple ordered enough sapphire crystal to make 200 million phones. According to various analysts, however, an iPhone, or any other large smartphone enhanced with a sapphire glass screen, would be too expensive for anyone to be interested.

The smaller phone, which Economic Daily News refers to as the iPhone 6, will allegedly not be equipped with sapphire glass. Instead, the iPhone will feature Corning Gorilla Glass, which is cheaper. The newspaper says the phone will have a 4.7-inch screen. Previous rumors say the smaller iPhone will have either a 4.7-inch or 4.8-inch screen.

Economic Daily News claims the phone will be released in the third quarter of this year.

According to a recent report from KDB Daewoo Securities Research, Apple will release 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.