iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 may BOTH launch this year, with OLED screens and sapphire glass

In 2014 we were lucky enough for Apple to launch not just its best iPhone yet, but its two best smartphones, with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. As good as it was to finally have some proper choice in the line-up, the truth is that the phones just whet our appetites for what the company could do next. It should come as no surprise that we're now into full-on rumour mode, sifting through all of the information to find out what the company has in store.

We know that it's going to be a BIG year for the company, with the much-anticipated Apple Watch heading to stores in April, after being unveiled alongside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It's clear that the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 have a lot to live up to, and we're fully expecting Apple to deliver.

2015 will (probably not) see the iPhone 6S AND iPhone 7 launch

If there's been one reliable thing about Apple's iPhone launches, it's that they happen just once a year. Not so this year, if you believe a report from StableyTimes, which claims that this year Apple will stagger its launches, releasing both new handsets. According to 'sources close to the supply chain' talking to the site, Apple wants to release the iPhone 6S to coincide with the launch of the Apple Watch, in order to give a boost in sales.

According to the logic behind this statement, more and more mobile contracts are letting people upgrade more regularly, giving Apple an opportunity to launch handsets every six months, and sell more in the process. To hit that schedule, it would mean that the iPhone 6S would be a minor upgrade to the iPhone 6, with a new flagship iPhone 7 launched at the end of the year. It would also let the company keep up with Samsung, which releases far more phones throughout the year.

There's a certain amount of logic to that, but this doesn't seem to strike true with us. If anything, Apple would seem to want to launch the Apple Watch separately to any new iPhones, in order to give its new product more attention. Secondly, Sony has stuck to a six-monthly cycle with its Xperia range, with the Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z3 launched just six months apart. While the Z3 is the superior product, mostly from a design perspective, the big problem is that there's actually little difference inside between the two models. Simply put, a six-monthly release schedule doesn't give a company enough time to make significant changes and runs the risk of stagnation and people becoming bored with the product. Secondly, with new product every six months, the temptation is there for people to keep putting off their purchase, knowing that a newer and better phone is due soon.

Instead, we imagine that Apple will stick to what it usually does: launch the 6S in September, with the new models having upgraded internals, but keeping the same bodies. That will mean that the iPhone 7 will launch in 2016; there's a slim possibility that it will launch in Spring 2016 (six months after the iPhone 6S), but we think that the iPhone 7 will launch in September 2016. Here's when the previous iPhone launches from the 4S have happened:

If Apple decides to be as regular as it has been, that should mean that the iPhone 6S is released on September 18th, 2015; although, to be fair, the company could end up going a week or two earlier or later.

There could be THREE new models: iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 6C

With the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, an interesting side effect was that the iPhone 5S suddenly became one of the most attractive options for people that want a small, yet powerful smartphone. When Apple launches the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, the iPhone 5S will be quite old, technologically speaking, but it's clear that there's still a demand for a lower-cost, smaller handset. Step forwards the iPhone 6C, a rumoured 4in replacement to the iPhone 5S. There are no more details available, and we're not sure if the 6C will have the same processor as its big brother (the 4.7in iPhone 6S and 5.5in iPhone 6S Plus); if the status quo is maintained, we'd say that the iPhone 6C will use the current Apple A8 chip, while the bigger phones will get the new A9 chip.

Friends again? Samsung to make A9 processor for iPhone 6C?

Putting it mildly, Apple and Samsung haven't exactly gotten along in recent years with plenty of court cases between the two companies. It looks as though the relationship could be on the mend, with the South Korean publication, Maeil Business Newspaper, reporting that Samsung will manufacture 75 per cent of the SoCs for the iPhone 6S.

Looking at existing model numbers, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus both have the A8 SoC, so the iPhone 6S is likely to have the A9. Details are thin on the ground, but the rumour has it that Apple is after Samsung's 14nm fabrication process (down from 20nm on the A8). Switching to 14nm will let Apple make faster, cooler and more power-efficient processors, which will give better performance and better battery life.

Getting tough - iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 could use Sapphire glass

Sapphire glass was one of the things that we were hoping would make it into the iPhone 6. This incredibly tough material (second only to diamonds), would make the glass front of the phone virtually indestructible and is just about the best thing that could happen to the smartphones. At the launch, sapphire glass didn't materialise, with the phone's getting 'ion-strengthened glass' instead. Only the Apple Watch was announced with the glass.

It turns out that supply was a problem, particularly when the glass panels need to be big enough to cover the phones. On top of that the company that everybody thought was going to be the big sapphire supplier for Apple, GT Advanced Technologies, filed for Bankruptcy Court Protection Under Chapter 11 on the 6th October 2014. 

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That doesn't mean that it's game-over for the technology, as Focus Taiwan has reported that manufacturer Foxconn is rapidly building a new display factory purely for handling Apple's iPhone orders. The company has apparently signed a deal with the Zhengzhou city government in Henan Province, China, to develop a 133-hectare factory right next to an existing iPhone 6 factory. The report also suggests the factory will be producing sapphire glass displays. The factory may not have time to ramp up production for the iPhone 6S, but we'll hopefully at least see it for the iPhone 7.

Do we really need another new USB cable?

Rumour has it that Apple's ready to introduce a new 2A charger (up from the 1A charger provided with the current range), for faster charging, but will also switch to the new USB Type-C standard. This is designed to address one of the major bugbears with the current Type-A connector: it can only be plugged in one-way round. The new Type-C design is reversible, so the USB connector can be plugged in either way up, making inserting cables into USB ports less fiddly. With the reversible Lightning connector on the other end, charging your iPhone 6S or iPhone 7 would certainly be less fiddly.

USB Type-C has also been reduced in size, which could make the charger smaller, too. The only problem is that USB Type-C isn't backwards compatible with the Type-A connector, so you'd need to use an adaptor cable if you wanted to use a new Lightning cable with your own third-party charger. Check out the video below to see what the new cable and charger could look like.

The big changes are coming with the iPhone 7

As we mentioned, Apple's usual pattern for phone releases is to release a brand-new model with a new design, then follow-up with an 'S' model that upgrades the internals and may make a few design tweaks. If the company continues to follow this pattern, it should mean that the iPhone 7 will be where we start to see the BIG changes and the new technology.

Goodbye IPS, hello OLED for the iPhone 7

One of the big changes for the iPhone 7 is that Apple could switch away from IPS panels to OLED displays. According to Chinese site MacX.cn the iPhone 7 will have a 5in OLED display rather than an LCD panel. MacX's leaks have been a fairly reliable in the past, and it goes on to report that a number of differently sized OLED screens have been requested by Foxconn (who manufacture Apple's iPhones) in time for 2016 or 2017.

According to its sources, there could potentially be a future 5in iPhone with a pixel density of 440 pixels-per-inch (PPI), implying it would have a Full HD 1,920x1,080 resolution. This would offer improved sharpness over the current iPhone 6 display, which has a 4.7in panel and a pixel density of 326PPI. However, given the time frame for these OLED screens could be as far as two years away, we think it's unlikely that Apple's next iPhone for 2015 will have one of these displays. 

The report also connects the Apple Watch with potentially having an OLED display, but once again Foxconn's OLED time frame pours cold water on this particular rumour. When the Apple Watch is meant to be launching this year (with some reports saying as early as March), we doubt the first generation of Apple's new smartwatch will make use of these rumoured OLED panels. However, it could still mean that future generations of the Apple Watch might have an OLED display - which would certainly help with the rumoured battery life issues surrounding the Apple Watch - but when we don't know how Apple is planning to upgrade its wearable just yet (i.e.: whether it's going to be releasing multiple, upgraded models like its iPhones or simply updating the software over time), we're taking this particular rumour with a pinch of salt. 

BEST camera EVER in the iPhone 7

Another rumour doing the rounds is that the iPhone 7 will have a pair of upgraded rear camera sensors to give the biggest jump in picture quality ever seen on a smartphone. Daring Fireball's John Gruber said on his The Talk Show podcast that "a birdie of a birdie" told him that Apple is working on a two-lens camera system for future iPhones.

Although he didn't mention any specific technical details, he did postulate that the upgrade would mean a massive leap forward in terms of image quality, bringing the smartphone on par with some digital SLR cameras. Apple certainly wouldn't be the first company to use twin camera sensors, although the Duo Camera found in the HTC One (M8) was used to measure depth information and create depth of field effects rather than boost image quality.

It has been suggested Apple's approach may mirror that of small tech startup Corephotonics, which uses a dual-lens camera system with two different focal lengths. One sensor is used for wide-angle images and the other is used for close-up and macro shooting. The two focal lengths would negate the degrading effects of digital zoom, and could still be used for 3D spatial measurements because the lens offset is a known entity. Apple holds a range of camera-related patents, including post-capture refocusing, interchangeable lens modules and external lens attachments; the dual-lens system could be an evolution of one of these.

Speculation this far in advance is rarely accurate, but Daring Fireball has been right in the past and only quotes more likely rumours. Apple going down this route for the camera in the iPhone 7 certainly fits in with how it has progressed in recent years, pushing quality rather than resolution.

Go on then, what will the iPhone 7 look like?

There tend to be a lot of iPhone images sent around, but if there's one guy we trust to deliver the goods, it's Martin Hajek. Renowned for his high-quality, photo-realistic mock-ups, his designs put flesh and bones on the rumours and give a good idea of what to expect. His designs don't always match up to the final product, but he is working off words and rumours rather than final images; what you get is a better idea of how the new information could be realised. Anyway, that's enough of us blabbing on, check out the work he did with Business Insider, coming up with a design that shows how the iPhone 7 could look if Apple goes for edge-to-edge glass.

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