IPHONE 6

The sixth generation of Apple's vaunted iPhone is expected to arrive in Apple stores worldwide in July 2012. Google's Android, nipping at its heels for years, is expected to overtake Apple's iPhone in market share this year, putting Apple on the defensive. If there ever were a time for the iPhone to woo and wow potential buyers, now would be it.

With every new iteration, the questions on everyone's mind are:

What's new? (What are the new added features?) What does it look like? When does it come out exactly?

A "green" iPhone? With a possible graphene touchscreen, case made of naturallysourced plastic, and ORB (organic radical battery), the iPhone 6 might be hailed as the most environmentally-friendly iPhone yet.

Source: concept by Mac Funamizu

So far, Apple's been mum about the details, as they are famous for doing, but the rumor mill and fake pictures are already starting to spring up. Here's what we can probably expect:

4G: The iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 are belatedly available on Verizon in the United States, but 4G (LTE) is likely not going to be available until AT&T releases its own 4G service (HSPA+) nationwide, expected in later 2011 at the earliest. The iPhone 6, released in 2012, will likely be the first 4G phone available on both US carriers. This is, admittedly, a disappointment for Verizon users, since its speedy LTE network will have been deployed for well over a year and accessible with competitive (read: Android) devices during that time. Faster chip. iOS 6 will also debut around the same time, and with each successive Apple mobile

operating system, increased complexity and added features create strains on the processor. A chip faster than the ubiquitous 1 GHz chip we've seen rolled out, or even a dual-core processor, might be unveiled. Graphene touchscreen. This atom-thick material bonded to a polymer support reduces thickness, is far more environmentally friendly (no heavy metals needed, like the currently-used indium tin oxide) and, importantly, boasts far quick response times to tracing and drawing on screen. Coupled with the faster chip, the iPhone 6 might be the first phone which can capture your signature as fast as you can write it with your finger. More memory. The iPhone app store shows no signs of abating in popularity, and without SD card memory expansion in Android phones, Apple will up the phone storage options available. Expect 64GB and 128GB variants. Improved battery. The iPhone 6 might be the first to use the organic radical battery (ORB) technology developed by Japan's NEC, which is more environmentally-friendly than current lithium ion batteries that have dangerous heavy metals. ORB also boasts an absurdly fast recharge time (about 30 seconds) and higher energy density (will be able to pack more power into a smaller battery). Better camera. The iPhone 6 might be the first iPhone to cross the 10 million pixel threshold with its camera, unsurprising as high-resolution images have always been a hallmark of Apple's products. Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip. Debuted on the Samsung Nexus S and most likely implemented on the iPhone in the 5th generation product, this newest hardware addition enables contactless communication between a phone and objects similarly embedded NFC capabilities. This should eventually enable things like paying via credit card by holding your phone over a terminal for a second, or paying for things from vending machines using your phone. The technology is similar to Bluetooth although it uses less energy and establishes a connection far more quickly (although at a much closer range - a few inches away instead of yards away).

Form factor improvements. Apple puts a tremendous amount of emphasis on the sleekness of its products. The iPhone 6 will be no exception, with a modern, lightweight, and thin look. Expect some surprises in terms of shape and, especially, materials, as Apple hopes to push the envelope and fend off attacks from Android handmakers, its largest competition. Case material improvements. To round out the environmental friendliness of the new device, more advanced, naturallysourced plastics might be used in the case. For example, isoplast polymers might replace the previously used polycarbonate case manufactured with BPA (bisphenol-A). The glass back used in the iPhone 4 has had too many breakage issues.

Possible innovations and features Apple usually includes something unique and technologically cutting-edge into each iteration of the iPhone (like the smudge-proof screen in the 3G and glass case in the iPhone 4). Here are some possibilities for the iPhone 6:

The case could be made of the battery itself (lithium ion polymer), reducing weight and improving battery life The button could be phased out, replaced with a virtual button on-screen face or thumb recognition as a security measure the phone could be a Wifi hub using the carrier 4G connection a "pico-projector" - video can be projected a short distance onto a flat surface a clear "window phone" in which the phone could be transparent

Features: The top and side of the iPhone 3GS, externally identical to the iPhone 3G. The switches were black plastic on the original model. From left to right, sides: wake/sleep button, SIM card slot, headphone jack, silence switch, volume controls. Top: earpiece, screen. The iPhone has a minimal hardware user interface, featuring only four or five buttons, depending on the generation. The only physical menu button is situated directly below the

display, and is called the "Home button" because it closes the active app and navigates to the home screen of the interface. The home button is denoted not by a house, as on many other similar devices, but a rounded square, reminiscent of the shape of icons on the home screen. A multifunction sleep/wake button is located on the top of the device. It serves as the unit's power button, and also controls phone calls. When a call is received, pressing the sleep/wake button once silences the ringtone, and when pressed twice transfers the call to voicemail. Situated on the left spine are the volume adjustment controls. The iPhone 4 has two separate circular buttons to increase and decrease the volume; all earlier models house two switches under a single plastic panel, known as a rocker switch, which could reasonably be counted as either one or two buttons. Directly above the volume controls is a silence switch that mutes all sound when engaged. All buttons except Home were made of plastic on the original iPhone and metal on all later models. The touchscreen furnishes the remainder of the user interface. The display responds to three sensors (four on the iPhone 4). A proximity sensor deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs from the user's face and ears. An ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power. A 3-axis accelerometer senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, allowing the user to easily switch between portrait and landscape mode. Photo browsing, web browsing, and music playing support both upright and left or right widescreen orientations. Unlike the iPad, the iPhone does not rotate the screen when turned upside-down, with the Home button above the screen, unless the running program has been specifically designed to do so. The 3.0 update added landscape support for still other applications, such as email, and introduced shaking the unit as a form of input.[38][39] The accelerometer can also be used to control third-party apps, notably games. The iPhone 4 also includes a gyroscopic sensor, enhancing its perception of how it is moved. A software update in January 2008 allowed the first-generation iPhone to use cell tower and Wi-Fi network locations trilateration,despite lacking GPS hardware. The iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 employ A-GPS, and the iPhone 3GS and 4 also have a digital compass. The bottom of the iPhone sports a speaker (left) and a microphone (right) flanking the dock connector. One loudspeaker is located above the screen as an earpiece, and another is located on the left side of the bottom of the unit, opposite a microphone on the bottom-right.

The iPhone 4 includes an additional microphone at the top of the unit for noise cancellation, and switches the placement of the microphone and speaker on the base on the unitthe speaker is on the left. Volume controls are located on the left side of all iPhone models and as a slider in the iPod application. The 3.5 mm TRRS connector for the headphones is located on the top left corner of the device. The headphone socket on the original iPhone is recessed into the casing, making it incompatible with most headsets without the use of an adapter. Replacing the battery requires opening the iPhone unit and exposing the internal hardware. The iPhone features an internal rechargeable battery. Like an iPod but unlike most other mobile phones, the battery is not user-replaceable. The iPhone can be charged when connected to a computer for syncing across the included USB to dock connector cable, similar to charging an iPod. Alternatively, a USB to AC adapter (or "wall charger," also included) can be connected to the cable to charge directly from an AC outlet. A number of third-party accessories (car chargers, portable chargers, battery cases, stereo dock chargers, and even solar chargers) are also available. The original iPhone and iPhone 3G feature a built-in Fixed focus 2.0 megapixel camera located on the back for still digital photos. It has no optical zoom, flash or autofocus, and does not support video recording (iPhone 3G does support video recording via 3rd party App available on the App Store), however jailbreaking allows users to do so. Version 2.0 of iPhone OS introduced the capability to embed location data in the pictures, producing geocoded photographs.