iPhone 6 Revealed Today, Hysteria Ensues

Rumours Still Flying In Thick And Fast Hours Ahead Of iPhone 6 Launch

Six pm BST marks the end of life as we know it…and the start of a new era, with the introduction of the latest Apple product to rule our day to day lives. The iPhone 6 is being touted as the most important release since the inception of the very first iPhone many moons ago; it will be unveiled in a matter of hours at the Flint Center in California, the same place Apple debuted the original Mac 30 years ago.

Competition in the smartphone sphere has never been tougher, and the past few years have shown that it’s not necessarily all about that tasty looking fruity logo. There are some truly great and innovative products such as the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia and Nokia Lumia all surpassing the current iPhone in terms of size, specs, power and performance.

The internet is currently abound with rumours about the eighth generation iPhone as tech geeks and Apple fans speculate over the next best thing since sliced bread. We are promised a major revision of the iPhone including an entire new design and a plethora of snazzy features. It will no doubt be the most intuitive, thoughtful, considerate, entertaining and caring iPhone to date…but as ever, the privilege won’t come cheap, with prices likely to start at around £549/$649.

Here’s some techy stuff (all rumours remember):

There’ll be a 1134x750 pixel camera, a 4.7-inch display (or 5.5-inch for the iPhone 6L...presumably the L stands for larger). Consumer preference has shifted towards bigger screens and although I personally prefer something that will fit in my pocket without putting my hip out, Apple seems prepared to meet consumer demand for larger devices.

There’s talk of the screen being ‘unbreakable’, with many sources suggesting that the display will be protected by super tough sapphire crystal glass. It’s very considerate of Apple to have sourced a tonne of sapphires and crystals for their latest design, but this is what happens when your customers refuse to spend a fiver on a protective phone cover.

Interestingly (or not), Apple is likely to stick with the 8MP sensor that we’ve enjoyed on every iPhone since the 4S.

Finally, the phone will sport more rounded iPad-style corners, pill-shaped volume buttons and a True Tone dual-LED flash.

At the launch, Tim Cook (slightly lacking in the charisma department by all accounts, but a nice guy none the less) will also unveil the company’s latest operating system, iOS8, which will run the iPhone 6. Now this we do know more about, as it’s been plastered over the company home page for a while.

Apparently with iOS8: ‘it’s the details. The innovations. The complete experience.’ Much like what iOS7 was about, but ask a poor old iPhone 4 user (pah, what a luddite!) what they thought about the last software update and they’ll likely give you a pretty peeved look.

Anyway, here’s a summary of eight great things about iOS8:

1. QuickType can predict what you’re going to write before you write it. (A little disconcerting, also worryingly pushing users into a state of utter idleness where the need to think is frankly just a hassle).

2. Spotlight is getting smarter. (The intention is that you can use it like Google Search, rather than simply within your device. I quite like this one).

3. There’s a new health app. (It’s a hub that collates all your personal info and data on fitness, diet, sleep, medication and links it up with your doctor. Alright, I’ll go for a run already).

4. Siri is getting some tips from Shazam. (Namely a better hearing device).

5. You can reply to texts without opening the Messages app. (Links a little to no.1, but I guess it really is quite inconvenient to have to close down Candy Crush when replying to a friend).

6. The Photos app is starting to look a lot like Instagram. (#trendy).

7. You can call people over Wi-Fi. (This is a nice idea in theory, for those admittedly rare times when you have no reception but are connected to wifi…however, a similar app offered by Three is slightly stunted by the fact that once you’re calling someone over that wifi connection you mustn’t move out of it or else the call will cut out. You will hear some aggressive warning tones to make sure you stay still, but they actually recommend turning off your wifi and just making a call as normal. So, let’s hope that Apple have thought things through a little more than Three).

8. You can coordinate your phone with your family. (Allows you to share iTunes purchases across six nominated devices).

So there we go. That’s the roundup of the latest rumours and speculations about the iPhone 6 and iOS8, all we can do now is sit back and wait until tea time today to see what actually happens. Having hired former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve and ex-boss of Burberry Angela Ahrendts as vice president of special projects and senior vice president of retail and online stores, respectively, it seems a strong bet that Apple are gunning for the most beautifully designed and marketable luxury good to date.

Katie Rowley 

Recent graduate and now interning as content editor, when she's not writing articles Katie can quite likely be found festival-ing, holiday-ing or reading a book (dedicated English student that she is). Follow her @KatieAtSMF.

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