Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop covers the announcement of the announcement, some thoughts on the resulting speculation, what could be in the iPhone 6 design, a look inside the PR team at Apple, how long until the iWatch reaches consumers, NFC payments in iOS, a super sized iPad, and HealthKit implication for the medical and advertising profession.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many things that have happened around Apple over the last seven days.
Apple Has Named The Date
Let's start with what we definitely know. Apple is holding an event on September 9th, at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino. There is a temporary extension being added to the building. And that's it.
Everything else around the launch, the products, the hardware, and the availability, is speculation. Much of it is well-founded speculation, but there is nothing set in stone. That said, if the new iPhone range is not announced on the 9th, there would be a collective gasp from the analyst and reporters, and a pretty interesting drop in the share price.
The only other thing Apple has said is on the invite: "Wish we could say more." Which is cryptic enough to mean anything and everything, so I'm not going to even start to speculate around a phrase presumably designed to elicit speculation (although CNet has rounded up some of the more fantastic interpretations).
So What Do We Think Is New On The iPhone 6 Since Last Week?
There has been a lot of solid speculation this week around the potential hardware in the new iPhones. First up is the camera module. Forbes' Gordon Kelly has taken a look at some dimensions and images, and while the new handsets look to be of a similar build to the rivals (the 4.7 inch iPhone matching the Nexus 5, and the 5.5 inch phablet only slightly heavier than the Galaxy Note 3), it looks like the camera will not be as thin as the rest of the handset:
What the schematics also show us are the new iPhones rears and both have protruding cameras: 0.77mm for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 (N61) and 0.677mm and 0.77mm for the two 5.5-inch iPhone 6 (N56) variants. If correct, this will be the first time any iPhone has had a protruding camera.
It's A Question Of Memory And Connectivity
If it's a fake, it's an incredibly well put together fake, so let's assume that the pictures of the circuit boards (reported by Sonny Dickson and others) in the iPhone 6 are real. In conjunction with details leaked about the circuit diagrams, the key hardware components on note in the images are the new A8 CPU, a Toshiba 16 GB flash memory unit (with the paperwork suggesting 16 GB, 32 GB, and 128 GB models), and the inclusion of an NFC chip.
Paying By iPhone? That'll Do Nicely!
Let's stay with the idea of NFC on the iPhone 6 for the moment. While this is a boon to peripheral manufacturers, NFC, coupled with a software update to Passbook and integration with TouchID, opens up the financially attractive area of mobile payments to Apple. The nascent industry has been expecting Apple to arrive for a long time. More than any other arrival, Apple's entry to mobile payments could seriously destabilise the market.
... the world of mobile payments has been looking over its shoulder at Apple, which has become the elephant in the room. There’s no real standard that has come out on a global scale. Although you have solutions that are working on a smaller scale (such as Square in the United States, and M-Pesa in Africa); Apple’s payment system, simply by its presence and volume of potential users, could become the de facto standard… Assuming they have the necessary support.
The Bubble Inside The Bubble
Spare a thought for Apple's PR team right now. Staff members will be in transition at the moment after the departure of Katie Cotton as the VP of Worldwide Communications just before WWDC this year, so this keynote will be different for the staff. 9 to 5 Mac has published an extensive look at what Apple's PR staff will be dealing with in the run up to the keynote, and it's a wonderful look at the Apple bubble from the other side. Get yourself a coffee and settle in to Mark Gurman's latest.
Does The Left Wrist Know What The Right Wrist Is Planning?
Apple's plans around the iWatch are less clear, but there is a growing consensus that we will see Apple's efforts on wearable technology at the September 9th event. What's less clear is when the public will have a chance to buy the hardware, with reports coming in from John Paczkowski at Re/Code that the 'iWatch' will be a Q1 2015 product.
John Gruber is also hinting the wearable could tie into the Passbook/Payments service as well. Given it's likely to have an NFC chip for easy pairing, that's not a huge technological stretch to make.
The Current Apple iPad Range (image: Apple.com)
Look At The Size Of That Thing!
A 'super' iPad with a 12.9 inch screen is being considered for release in early 2015 (reports Bloomberg). This would certainly be a shake-up of the iPad portfolio - something Tim Cook has mentioned previously - and I'm left with the question of "who would need such a thing?" You know, the sort of question you though about when the first iPad was announced. Or the first iPhone. Or the first iPod. Or the first Apple Pippin console...
Battery Issues Force Hardware Recall On Some iPhone 5 Units.
Apple has issued a hardware recall on a number of iPhone 5 smartphones sold between September 2012 and January 2013. Under some circumstances, the handset could experience shorter battery life or require more frequent charging. If you think you might be covered, head over to Apple's iPhone 5 Battery Replacement Program website with your iPhone's serial number and take it from there.
He's The One They Call Doctor iOS.
Finally, Forbes' contributor Emma Woollacott has taken a look at the new privacy policies Apple has put in place around the introduction of HealthKit and a presumed push into biometrics and health data collection by Apple in iOS 8 and the new hardware.
The new rules state that developers may “not sell an end-user’s health information collected through the HealthKit API to advertising platforms, data brokers or information resellers”. They are also barred from using gathered data “for any purpose other than providing health and/or fitness services.”
The issue of personal health monitoring on the iPhone 6, and other smartphones, is going to be one that will be closely monitored by privacy advocates, users, and the medical institutions. Gordon Kelly has spoken to Dr. Rakesh Kapila (a private GP at the South Kensington GP Clinic in London, who completed his training at the Mayo Clinic in the US) and Dr. Dushan Gunasekera (a medical graduate of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital who left medicine to become a healthcare financial services advisor), as he looks at Doctor's concerns over HealthKit.
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, and don’t forget this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, comes out every Saturday!
