Business
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New handset expected to have force touch screen
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Allows users to ‘deep press’ to access more menus
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Screen could also vibrate to allow more interaction with users
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Believed to have radically upgraded camera
| By Mark Prigg |
APPLE’s next iPhone will be released on September 25th, it has been revealed by Vodafone.
In an email to staff seen by Mobile News, the operator also outlined pre-launch information, including plans to begin taking pre-orders for the device from September 18.
The email described the device as the ‘New iPhone’, suggesting Apple may look to follow its strategy with its iPads by not giving it a number.
Several key features of the phone have already leaked.
It’s screen will know exactly how hard you are pressing it, and will have new ‘smart’ features to take advantage of that, it has been claimed.
The system is already being used in the Apple Watch and the firm’s new Macbook portable computer.
The new iPhone, expected to be unveiled in September, is also expected to borrow the aluminium and rose gold used in apple’s watch.
iPhone 6S: What to Expect
Although Apple has not confirmed any details, analysts claim the handset will include:
> Updated processor
> New ‘force touch’ pressure sensitive screen
> Upgraded camera
> Will be available in new rose gold colour option
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects the new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones to enter mass production in mid-to-late August, and does not believe that a new 4-inch iPhone model will be released in 2015.
He says an upgraded screen will be the main selling point.
‘Force Touch will be the biggest upgraded selling point, but also one of the main bottlenecks of the supply chain.
‘Force Touch can enhance user experience due to more input methods and support of handwritten signatures, which is beneficial for expanding in the commercial market.’
The new technology could spawn new applications for the phones, such as a piano-playing app that would make different sounds when touched lightly or more heavily.
Other predicted features for Apple’s next iPhone include an A9 processor with 2GB of RAM, improved 12-megapixel camera.
According to Kuo, the iPhone will also use the same materials at the Watch.
‘There will be an additional casing colour, rose gold, matching the rose gold Apple Watch Edition,’ he said.
The force touch technology was first seen in the new Macbook, and it also used in the Apple Watch.
‘MacBook also features the all-new Force Touch trackpad that brings a new dimension of interactivity to the Mac,’ Apple said when it was introduced.
Called force click, it even allows users to ‘deep press’, allowing them to see the dictionary definition of a word, or access a customisation menu on their Watch.
‘The new trackpad features built-in force sensors that allow you to click anywhere and haptic feedback that provides a responsive and uniform feel.
‘You can even customize the feel of the trackpad by changing the amount of pressure needed to register each click.
‘The Force Touch trackpad also enables a new gesture called Force Click, a click followed by a deeper press, for tasks like pulling up the definition of a word, quickly seeing a map or glancing at a preview of a file.’
Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Kylie Huang said Force Touch would work better on larger-screen iPhones and could lead to more innovative gaming applications.
The new machine, called simply the MacBook, boasts a 12 inch screen and a full size keyboard – but is just 13.1 mm thin and weighs two pounds.
It also boasts a radical new port, called USB-C, that allows it to use a single connector for power, and to hook up to other devices and even a TV.
Experts say the machine blurs the line between the iPad, iPhone and Macbook range.
‘It seems more iPad than Mac, and joins the two ranges together,’ said Stuart Miles of Pocket-Lint.com.
‘It is also easy to see where the rumours of the iPad Pro came in. It’s very easy to see how this could be turned into a large iPad, with a removable keyboard.’
Apple’s Phil Schiller boasted the firm had ‘reinvented every technology in it.’
For instance, Apple has redesigned the keyboard. claiming it is four times more accurate.
There is an LED under every key, so the entire keyboard has a uniform glow and can be used in the dark.
There is a new, pressure-sensitive Force Touch trackpad too so users can fast forward a film by applying more pressure.
The MacBook has the same ‘taptic engine’ as the Apple Watch, uses 30 per cent less energy than the previous model and is the first fanless logic board. This makes the components 67 per cent smaller.
Ian Fogg, an analyst with IHS, told MailOnline ‘What Apple is doing here is following its visa for the Mac, its adding in the best features form the iPhone and iPad, and making it thinner and lighter.
‘They’ve also kept course on not putting a touchscreen in there, and innovation with the touchpad
‘The opportunity for Apple with the Macbook is to grow the Mac at the expense of competitors.
The firm has also struck every component – the main logic board is 67 per cent smaller than in previous MacBook Air, allowing more batteries to be installed in the case, for instance.
Measuring just 13.1 mm at its thickest point, the new MacBook design is an amazing 24 percent thinner than the 11-inch MacBook Air.
Batteries were created in sheets to fit the inside of the machine perfectly.
The notebook comes in silver, space grey and gold, starts at $1,299 for 8GB memory and will ship from 10 April. The price starts at £1,049 in the UK.
‘Apple has reinvented the notebook with the new MacBook, and at just two pounds and 13.1 mm, it’s the thinnest and lightest Mac ever,’ said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
‘Every component of the MacBook reveals a new innovation.
‘From its fanless design, ultra-thin Retina display and full-size keyboard that’s 34 percent thinner, to its all-new Force Touch trackpad, versatile USB-C port and breakthrough terraced battery design, the new MacBook is the future of the notebook.’
Culled from Daily Mail.com
— Jun 8, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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Tags: 4-inch 4.7-inch 5.5-inch Apple Apple Watch Daiwa Capital Markets deep press fanless force click Force Touch haptic feedback Ian Fogg iPhone iPhone 6s Kylie Huang LED Macbook MacBook Air MailOnline Ming-Chi Kuo Mobile News New iPhone Phil Schiller taptic engine trackpad USB-C Vodafone
