Apple has been working on sapphire crystal glass for the past year now, a stronger and more scratch resistant material that they want to add onto the iPhone and other screens in the coming years.
Lots of reports have previously mentioned the iPhone 6 will be the first smartphone to get the sapphire crystal glass. We are not sure how big the change will be, we know Apple has forked out a lot of money in U.S manufacturing.
The iPhone 6 will have a 4.7-inch display, a little bit smaller than the current crop of 5-inch 1080p Android flagships, but a good way for Apple to show the phone still fits in one hand.
A report from South Korea said that Apple will take away the side-bezels on the iPhone 6, making it a full edge-to-edge display. LG and Samsung have both been working on bezel-less smartphones, the LG G2 is a prime example.
Apple’s larger iPhone may be named the iPhablet, sources in the supply chain have referenced the larger device with this name, meaning we could see a new brand from Apple. This is a move to counter Samsung’s Galaxy Note growth, offering a bigger display and more room for developers to make “phablet” style applications for iOS.
We are not sure how Apple fans will react to the changes and the idea of Apple copying the style of Samsung, with bigger displays and thinner bezels. iOS developers will also have their work cut out for iOS8, if two new screen sizes are announced, on top of smartwatch support.
iOS8 should be the main focus, bringing the iPad, iPhone and iWatch together for another year. Apple will apparently focus this year on mobile payments, possibly adding NFC to the new iPhone 6 and fitness tracking, to add onto the iWatch. We will also see improvements made to Touch ID, possibly offering it out to third party developers.
