Apple fans have been debating for months whether the company would be releasing an “S” model this year or not. Some thought that the introduction of true innovation in the form of Force Touch would lead to a direct move to the iPhone 7.
Now 9to5mac cites a “proven source” in saying categorically that Apple will be releasing “6S” branded devices later this year. The site has acquired photos of the rear casing of the phone which reveal a design “identical to that of the current iPhone.”
No colour changes appear to be present and even the camera hole at the top is the same size, snubbing rumours that the next iPhone could include a dual-lens camera system. There appears to be no difference in width on the 4.7-inch phone but 9to5mac reports that there may be thickness refinements to the 5.5-inch 6S Plus.
The ports on offer are also identical to that of the iPhone 6: a central Lightning connector, a left-mounted 3.5mm headphone jack and six circular holes for sound from the speaker to emanate from.
There are some important differences though. The mounting holes for the phone’s main circuit board and sensors are not the same as that on the current generation iPhone, indicating that new components will be used for the new phone.
One of those new components looks to be an updated LTE wireless chip. Built by Qualcomm, 9to5Mac says that it could double performance over LTE cellular networks (up to 300Mbps) while using less power.
It is possible that the new iPhone may pack a slightly larger battery than its predecessor. The motherboard is narrower than before so there should be a small amount of space freed up inside the chassis for the battery to occupy.
The lack of any exterior changes may disappoint some Apple fans who wanted a thinner design or different finish. It is clear that the company has been working on improving its internals though so that it can offer consumers faster data speeds and higher battery life.
