Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. It looks as though the very first pictures of Apple's (AAPL +0.43%) iPhone 6 (or, at least bits of it) have hit the web. Take a look at this alleged picture of the iPhone 6's front panel:
Source: Weibo.com.
Unlike prior "leaks" that ultimately turned out to be phony, this really does look like the real deal. Further, this image seems to confirm many of the "hot" rumors surrounding this phone. So, let's walk through some of those rumors and compare them to what we see here.
The iPhone 6 -- bigger and better
We've heard the following pretty sensible rumors (among others) regarding the upcoming iPhone 6:
- 4.7" display for the flagship runner
- Same aspect ratio as the iPhone 5s in order to maintain application compatibility
- Thinner bezels
- Sapphire glass cover
The image above seems to corroborate the 4.7" rumor. Further, the aspect ratios of the iPhone 5s display pictured on the left and the alleged iPhone 6 front panel on the right seem to be identical. It seems that Apple is going to make life easier for application developers! We also see the thinner bezels, although it's tough to see on that image. The leaks appear to be pretty spot on if this image isn't a fake.
Is the image a fake?
The image above doesn't have any of the markings of anything suspicious. The lighting looks fine, the reflections look real, and it's not in some weird, obscure angle -- it's clearly a picture of somebody holding a physical part. Further, the same site managed to leak yet another image, shown below.
The iPhone 5s next to the purported front panel of its successor, the iPhone 6. Source: Weibo.com.
While I'm sure that a talented image manipulator could produce a convincing fake, this once again seems to look real. It doesn't look like somebody just manipulated an image of the iPhone 5s' front panel, nor does it look like a render (which would look unnaturally plasticky). This really looks like the real deal.
Apple looks to refine the "big" smartphone
Let's be honest: A lot of people want a larger iPhone. Frankly, more screen real estate, as long as it doesn't take away from the usability of the device, is usually a good thing. It makes more complex messages easier to write, games easier to play, and it can often make general usage quite a bit nicer.
This is a difficult balancing act, though, as there is such a thing as too big for many customers. The Galaxy S4 seems to have sold quite well and the Galaxy S5 appears to be off to an encouraging start, although this is also probably due to aggressive pricing/deals. At the same time, the smaller 4" iPhone has also done extremely well. Apple needs to be careful not to alienate its loyal customer base but at the same time needs to attract new customers; 4.7" could prove the optimal size for Apple.
Now that we know what the phone probably looks like, it's all about waiting for the launch and the subsequent sales numbers.
