The weeks leading up to the official unveiling of Apple's latest flagship iPhone are usually marked with dozens of leaks of alleged press renderings, mockups and schematics. The wait for the iPhone 6 is not any different.
Although the rumors have slowed down a bit, the gossip mill is turning again thanks to a new photo of what a Romanian website alleges to be images of an aluminum mold for the iPhone 6. The photo shows what appears to be a thin slab of metal that has been molded to fit the alleged shape and size of Apple's next iteration of the iPhone. Take note that this is not a mockup of the iPhone 6 but a manufacturing tool used by phone accessory makers that create cases ahead of the release of the actual phone as a means to ward off competition.
The photo shows that the square of metal has various cutouts and depressions to fit the alleged hardware specifications of the iPhone 6 and for attaching to manufacturing machines.
True to the rumors, the alleged case mold has a flat back with rounded edges and looks significantly slimmer than earlier iPhones. On the sides are holes for the pill-shaped volume buttons, which are a divergence from the circular buttons on the iPhone 5s, a SIM card tray and the new side-mounted sleep/wake button. Also seen are cutouts for the microphone and headphone jack, a Lightning port and a speaker grill that looks like what is found on the iPhone 5c. The mold does not have a depression for the microphone found next to the camera, like what is seen on the iPhone 5, 5s and 5c. The photo also shows a raised ring for the rear camera with what appears to be rounded flash, as opposed to the dual-LED True Tone flash Apple placed in the iPhone 5s.
Analysts expect Apple to release a 4.7-inch Apple 6 in September, with a bigger 5.5-inch version to follow later in the year. Taiwanese media, however, have cited sources from Apple's Asian supply chain who said that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will come out earlier than expected, most probably in August.
Ming-Chi Kuo, a KGI Securities analyst reputed for his accurate predictions on Apple products, sent out a research note to clients which was obtained by MacRumors. Kuo laid out a detailed report on Apple's newest phone that has yet to be announced.
"The iPhone 6 will include a new A8 processor, 1GB of RAM, Touch ID, a narrower bezel by 10 to 20 percent, and the phone to be thinned to 6.5-7.0mm (the current iPhone 5 is 7.6mm thick). He also expects Apple to finally include NFC chips in its smartphones," says MacRumors. "He expects the 5.5" iPhone 6 to debut later in the holiday quarter, with shipments just below 9 million units for the year. The 5.5" iPhone will also see a significantly larger battery -- 50% to 70% more watt-hours than the iPhone 5s -- to power the larger screen, and also because there will be more real estate inside the case. "
