Apple set to unveil new iPhones
Apple Inc. is preparing to unveil successors to the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus as early as next month with more advanced photography capabilities and upgraded hardware in a design similar to that of last year’s models, according to people familiar with the matter.
The standout features will be a dual- camera system on the larger iPhone, a re- engineered home button that responds to pressure with haptic feedback and the removal of the devices’ headphone jack, said the people, who didn’t want to be identified discussing unannounced features. Apple declined to comment.
While i Phone demand has waned in recent quarters, partly due to the lull between product launches, the device continues to be the major source of Apple’s revenue. The new models will be critical to the holiday quarter, and Apple is counting on the phones to prop up sales ahead of an expected iPhone overhaul in 2017, the device’s 10th anniversary.
It has, however, hit a potential snag in Russia. On Monday, the country’s Federal Anti- Monopoly Service said it had opened a case into price- fixing allegations concerning Apple iPhones.
“The Anti- Monopoly Service sees signs of price fixing violations in the Russian Federation at Apple iPhone resellers, which resulted in the same prices for these smartphones,” it said.
The anti- monopoly body said it had opened its case after an appeal from a citizen with information that identical prices had been set for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, which appeared in Russia in October 2015, at 16 major resellers. It said that an investigation had showed that resellers had set identical prices and kept them at that level for a certain time period, including for other models.
MTS, one of the resellers mentioned in the anti- monopoly service’s statement, declined a request for comment. Euroset, another firm mentioned, denied it had coordinated prices with anyone.
Moving away from the typical two-year iPhone redesign cycle, this year’s models will look similar to the 6 and 6S, the people said, adding that there will still be noticeable tweaks. The new iPhones will retain the same 4.7-inch and 5.5- inch screen sizes as their predecessors, the first of which was introduced in September 2014. Apple will remove the two innermost antenna lines that run across the back of the current iPhones, the people added.
The dual cameras on the larger new iPhone will produce brighter photos with more detail, according to a person who has used a prototype version. Both sensors, which each capture colour differently, simultaneously take a picture, and the device produces a single, merged photograph, said the person.
The dual system sharpens photos taken in low-light environments, the person said. The combination of the merged photos from the two camera sensors also allows users to zoom while retaining more clarity, the person added.
Apple is also planning an updated home button for the new models. Current home buttons are switches that physically press into the phone, but the new models will have a pressure-sensitive button that provides feedback to the user via a vibrating haptic sensation rather than a true physical click, according to the people. This mechanism is similar to that of the trackpads on the latest MacBook line. 9to5Mac reported on the home button design earlier.
Apple’s shares were little changed at US$107.78 at 9:36 a.m. in New York. The stock was up 2.1 per cent this year through Friday.