Two weeks from now, we can finally lay to rest all of the rumors about the Apple iWatch and iPhone 6. Apple has set Wednesday, September 9 as the date of its next product launch south of San Francisco, where the company is expected to unveil a wearable device along with two new larger iPhones.
Don’t count on the iWatch name as a sure thing, though. We predict that Apple might market its wearable device primarily as a wearable iPod and fitness tracker, with watch and remote control functions being obvious parts of that. Tech news site Recode backs this up, saying that the device will use Apple’s HealthKit health and fitness platform — and probably also HomeKit, Apple’s new platform for controlling connected devices. We expect the iWatch — or whatever it’s called — will not only let you control features on your iPhone, but also enable control of certain HomeKit connected home electronics and appliances.
Apple event invites often contain clues as to new product features, but the invite to Apple’s 9-9 event shows only the date and then a line that says: “We wish we could say more.” The reference to speaking might allude to an improved Siri — which has been widely rumored — and of course a voice-controllable wearable device.
The word “more” could also hint at a bigger iPhone, which is almost a sure thing, based on several separately leaked production photos. And most Apple pundits predict that the company will show off two new iPhones – one with a 4.7-inch display, and one a 5.5-incher. Each of the screens will be made of Apple’s sapphire glass, which is supposedly tougher than Corning’s Gorilla glass. The phones will be thinner than previous iPhones, and have narrower bezels around the screen, according to more leaked photos. Display resolution is not known, but rumored to remain at Apple’s current Retina display level.
And the iPhone 6 may also finally get NFC (near-field communication) to enable mobile payments and other transactions, according to a post today from Wired. While Samsung and other major phone makers have added NFC to their recent phones, Apple has so far relied on Bluetooth for its Passbook and iBeacon platforms.
Recent rumors of production delays, however, could hurt Apple’s ability to ship enough new iPhones to meet the huge demand for them. Typically, Apple ships its new iPhones a few weeks after announcing them.
Stay tuned on September 9 when we’ll be ready with all of the details, plus a roundup of hands-on impressions from all other major tech bloggers.
