Rumors

There hasn't really been any new information announced since our original iPhone 6 rumor roundup was published in June, but there have been a lot of leaked images of purported iPhone 6 parts. The Taiwanese blog Apple.club today posted pictures (shown below) showing off a fully assembled display of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model. The same blog also posted images of the Apple logo for the back panel, which dispelled rumors that the logo would act as an notification light. Here's what else we think we know about the iPhone 6. Remember, none of this has been officially confirmed and should be taken with a grain of salt.

iPhone 6 Release Date

There were several rumors that production of the next-generation iPhone was delayed, but the rumor mill now claims the iPhone 6 will officially be announced on Tuesday, September 9th.

Venture Beat has announced another "exclusive" iPhone 6 rumor only a few weeks after its last exclusive report was quickly shot down by the Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group. This time the site's anonymous source has tipped them off about some iPhone 6 specs that were leaked months ago. According to Venture Beat, the iPhone 6 will support faster Wi-Fi (802.11ac), Category 6 LTE and NFC technology.

Venture Beat's source also squashed previous rumors that the new iPhone 6 models will be equipped with sapphire glass displays. The source said the next-generation iPhone's screen will be made of an "extremely hard material that’s slightly harder than Gorilla Glass but not as hard as sapphire."

Apple has reportedly scheduled a press event for September 9, 2014, according to John Paczkowski of re/code. The focus of the event is expected to be Apple's next-generation iPhone, although it is still unclear if Tim Cook and company will be announcing two new models or one. Recent rumors have suggested that Apple plans to launch 4.7- and 5.5-inch models of its new handset this fall, but nothing has been officially confirmed.

A September 9 event coincides with an earlier 9to5Mac report which claimed Apple was “tentatively planning a keynote address in mid-September". Tuesday is also typically the day of the week Apple prefers to unveil new hardware.

Several weeks ago, Ming-Chi Kuo, a respected analyst at KGI Securities, reported that mass production of the iWatch would likely be pushed back from September to mid to late November due to engineering issues with both the hardware and software. Last week, rumors out of China claimed that mass production of the iPad Air 2 and next generation iPad mini would be delayed as well. This week appears to be the iPhone 6's turn, as a new rumor claims that the highly anticipated handset may not launch until mid October.

According to MacRumors, a source with firsthand knowledge of an internal Apple retail store meeting said that a senior Store Leader spoke of October 14 being an "immense" day, and that October as a whole would be extremely busy. This is one

It looks like Apple is preparing for its largest iPhone launch yet. The company told suppliers it is planning to build 70-80 million next-generation devices by December 30, according to The Wall Street Journal. This is a large increase from the 50-60 million iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s units Apple ordered last year. Apple is predicting that iOS users will be drawn to the new larger sized iPhone models, and hopes for an increase in sales after a disappointing performance by the iPhone 5c.

There have also been rumors that the 5.5-inch model is suffering from manufacturer delays and that it will be pushed back until 2015. Even the WSJ noted that display makers "are struggling to improve the production of the larger 5.5-inch screens".

"The production is complicated because the displays are using in-cell technology, which allows the screens to be thinner and lighter by integrating touch sensors into the liquid crystal display and making it unnecessary to have a separate touch-screen layer," explained the WSJ.