Composite image of the successor to the iPhone 6 | iGeneration

If Apple once again respects its usual schedule, we are just over two months away from one of the most important events of the year: the presentation of the new iPhone range. This special event is strategic for Apple, the range of smartphones representing 70% of the company's revenues – given what is at stake, it is better not to crash!

And this year, Apple should play the card of continuity. The trick is taken: after the launch of a new generation, the manufacturer offers an intermediate livery with better performance and improved components, before entering a new development cycle.

This logic should be respected, and even more so in 2015: the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have indeed marked more than an evolution in Apple's discourse. These two models can be considered real breakthroughs, with their (frankly) larger screens and a divisive design, between the plastic strips on the back and the overflowing camera.

The outline of the design

What to expect from the 2015 version of the iPhone? The rumours, largely brought by 9to5Mac which is very often right, have begun to draw the portrait of a range respecting the biannual cycle of Apple's smartphones. Without too much surprise, we should therefore find two models of 4.7 and 5.5 inches, as well as the design signature of the iPhone 6, namely a device with rounded lines, whether it is slices or corners.

According to the components that have started to emerge, the design of the rear hull will respect that of the 2014 version to the comma. And those who did not like the antenna strips will be at their expense: they should be present once again in 2015. However, Apple has developed a patent which precisely makes it possible to hide these unsightly lines, through a new material which looks like metal, while letting the waves pass (read: A patent for hide the antennas of future iPhones). It will probably be necessary to wait for the 2016 generation, or even the next ones, to see if Apple intends to exploit this invention.

Aesthetically, those who have seen the shell have spoken of a space gray dress as light as the current model: the iPhone 6s of this color will not match perfectly with the MacBook of the same shade. On the other hand, it is possible that a new color will appear: in addition to the sidereal grey, silver and gold shades, the 2015 collection should welcome a “rose gold” variant. Unlike the Apple Watch Edition, it shouldn't be an 18-karat gold case, but a rose gold imitation…although there's nothing stopping Apple from launching an Edition line of the iPhone, after all.

Should this be seen as a departure from Jony Ive's mantra? It is possible, according to the leaked diagrams, that the iPhone 6s is… thicker than the iPhone 6! We have indeed spoken of a thickness of 7.1 mm, against 6.9 mm for the current iPhone 6. In fact, the 6s should be as thick as the iPhone 6 Plus, which in fact should only represent a minimal difference once in the hand. Will the camera overflow again? Hard to say, even if we imagine that the chief designer only moderately appreciates this growth which clashes somewhat with the sober design of the smartphone.

What would these 0.2 mm be used for? Fit a larger battery? We cannot, at this stage, be definitive, but it seems that this additional thickness is mainly intended for the components necessary for a Force Touch screen. The slab of future iPhones would thus be sensitive to finger pressure, like the screen of Apple Watch or the new trackpads of MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

In terms of material, Apple could choose the 7000 aluminum of the Apple Watch Sport: this aluminum is indeed very resistant (“60% harder than traditional alloys”, enthuses the manufacturer), which should limit the risks of folding having made the rich hours of the jokers and the success of the #bendgate.

Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known analyst, has indicated that the screen of the iPhone 6s Plus could be protected by a layer of synthetic sapphire… but only if the production problems are solved. We know how difficult it is to manufacture this material in large quantities. And the properties of synthetic sapphire mean it can break more easily than Ion-X glass — even though it's more scratch resistant. Apple could be content to offer a "limited edition" whose price could approach stratospheric levels.

Finally, all those (and there are still many) crossing their fingers to see a 4-inch iPhone 6s again can always burn a candle to Saint Jude, the patron saint of desperate causes. Ming-Chi Kuo saw in his crystal ball that nothing like this would happen...this year, at least.

Big camera, small pixels

The camera of the future iPhone is the subject of much speculation. Hamza Sood spotted in the code of an iOS 9 beta the traces of a front photo sensor capable of recording video in 1080p at a speed of 120 frames / second, and 240 fps in 720p. The front camera would also be able to take panoramic shots and it would be assisted by a flash: the selfies taken with the iPhone 6s should therefore have a completely different head than those that we currently take.

Another rumor, to be taken with greater tweezers, evokes a 5 megapixel sensor at the front, and 12 megapixels at the rear. It's been so long that we talk about a more generous back sensor in terms of megapixels that it will eventually happen one day (since the iPhone 4S, we capped at 8 megapixels). Especially when competing manufacturers are starting to integrate 8 megapixel sensors… on the front!

We can nevertheless trust Apple to once again ensure the best possible quality for the photos taken with this future iPhone, regardless of the number of pixels. There is competition in this niche: the Galaxy S6 is regularly praised for taking photos of equal quality, or even better than the iPhone 6. As we know, the number of megapixels does not always influence the quality images (schematically, they are simply bigger). What matters first is not only the software processing (Apple is not badly off on this point), but also the aperture and the size of the pixels: the larger they are, the better they capture light.

Quite paradoxically, an analyst has predicted smaller pixels for future iPhones. The photo sensors of the iPhone 5s and 6 have 1.5 µm pixels (for an aperture of f/2.2). Does this mean that the photos will be less good? Not necessarily (we can hope…): the pixels of the Galaxy S6 camera are also smaller (1.2 µm) and that does not prevent it from holding out on the iPhone 6. Finally, the presence of two cameras on the back of the iPhone 6s seems clearly swept away, given the hull that has leaked.

More space for fewer components

If on the outside, the iPhone 6s should look like two drops of water to its predecessors (except for the rose gold version), inside the story would be very different. It is an immutable rite: each version of iPhone brings its more powerful processor. It is hard to see Apple not respecting this habit: after the A8 of its predecessors, the iPhone 6s should therefore be powered by an A9 engine.

The motherboard of what was presented as belonging to the iPhone 6s differs significantly from its counterpart in the iPhone 6: there are thus much fewer components (3 on the first against 10 on the second). Fewer components translate into a lower assembly cost (which will probably not affect the final price of the product, etc.), greater operating efficiency, as well as some energy savings.

This frantic search for reducing the size and the number of components would also be embodied by the development of an SiP (system-in-package) accompanying the A9 processor. A SiP contains not only the processor, but also the GPU, memory, storage, sensors, input/output ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC components, in short, everything needed to power a smartphone. The Apple Watch S1 is a SiP, which allowed Apple to experiment with this technology.

The difference with the SoC (system on chip) as we know it with the A8 and its predecessors, is that the SiP can contain components of different sizes (28 nm for the CPU, 14 nm for the memory, …). A SoC is a printed circuit board engraved using a single manufacturing process. What gain for Apple?

Here again, it is a question of making room inside the hull of the iPhone 6s, to slip there for example the components necessary for a Force Touch screen. How about a bigger battery? This seems compromised, Phil Schiller, Apple's marketing boss having made it clear that the balance between weight, finesse and autonomy had been the subject of "very good choices".

The iPhone 6s could well be the first smartphone from Apple to integrate 2 GB of RAM, like the iPad Air 2 in which, for the moment, they are not fully exploited (it will be with iOS 9 and the Split View function). As far as storage is concerned, there should be no miracles: the entry-level models should be satisfied once again with 16 GB of space (less in fact, since the system and the applications pre- installed take up space). Here again, Phil Schiller indicated that these terminals had an economic utility for consumers as close as possible to their money. And then Apple realizes a larger margin on the versions offering more storage...

Let's not forget that iOS 9 will bring very important new features in the economical management of bytes (read: iOS 9: Apple puts apps on a diet). And the different clouds make it possible to store content outside the internal memory of the iPhone, provided that you obviously have access to a network!

On this side, there would also be something new. Qualcomm has concocted a more efficient and more economical 4G chip for its Apple client. The MDM9635M would allow the iPhone 6s to hook up to 4G category 6, while the current generation is limited to category 4. Main advantage, the theoretical speeds are twice as high: 150 Mbps for the iPhone 6, 300 Mbps potential for the iPhone 6s!

It is still necessary that the operators are there: Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR have started to equip their networks with 4G Cat. 6, but it will be hard to find anywhere for a while. Here too, the network chip is smaller (it would be engraved in 20 nm, against 28 nm for the previous model): there is still more space inside the shell.

The Touch ID sensor, already powerful on the iPhone 6/6 Plus, could see its precision and reliability increase further. On the other hand, there should be no question of USB C replacing Lightning. Even if the technology is on the rise, both at Apple and in the rest of the industry, there is no question (yet) of killing this proprietary connector that appeared in 2012 with the iPhone 5, the iPod nano 7G and iPod touch 5G.

A recent rumor has bet on a release date for Friday, September 18. This date seems credible: the iPhone 5 was launched on September 21, 2012, the iPhone 5c/5s on September 20, 2013, and the iPhone 6/6 Plus on September 19, 2014.

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