Every day that passes, new leaks and rumors pop up about IFA 2014 and what smartphone manufacturers are expected to debut. We are a little over two weeks away and the rumor mill is churning. Today we will go over the heavyweights this fall, and that includes the latest on Apple, Samsung, HTC, and Motorola.
Apple: The latest to come from Apple, is that it may be cheaper than previously thought for the smartphone king to make its highly-anticipated sapphire crystal display. The latest news regarding the front panel, is that Apple will use a very thin layer of sapphire crystal on the top of the panel, while using thinner glass on the bottom. It will retain its strength and resistance to scratches, but will save the company millions. This could possibly be as cheap as a $3 panel of Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
The other news surrounding Apple, is that the iPhone 6 may not even be called the iPhone 6. Yesterday we reported that Apple was to release two versions of their iPhone 6: a standard without a sapphire display and a premium with a sapphire display. This could cause Apple to have an iPhone 6 and 6s right out of the gate. However, the latest rumors suggests that it will indeed be called something else.
Apple executives are rumored to say the upcoming iPhone could be titled something along the lines of iPhone Air and iPhone Air X. Originally it was thought that the iPhablet would adopt the name ‘Air’, but it seems as if they both could sport that name. The iPhablet could receive an ‘X’ at the end of its title. Regardless, an iPhone is being released this September, whether it is an iPhone 6 or iPhone Air.
HTC: We now all know that HTC is going to release a Windows variance of the popular One M8 titled the One M8 for Windows. The latest news surrounding the One M8, or W8, is that you may be able to choose your OS. Wouldn’t that be something? It would be the first device of its kind, being able to swap over operating systems. While this is a great idea, it is something that is not likely to see the light of day. Google would most likely not appreciate people converting from Android to Windows at their own will.
Samsung: We have already seen the debut of the Galaxy Alpha, the first metal chassis phone in the Galaxy series, but Samsung has more up their sleeves. The latest leaks surrounding the Note 4 is that it will too come with a metal chassis. Is this a changing of how Samsung operates? Only time will tell, but rumors suggests that even the future successor to the Galaxy S5, could receive the metal treatment as well.
Samsung has been stuck behind Apple and HTC as far as build quality, and that is a major reason why consumers criticize their phones. This could be the move that sparks Samsung’s sales and skyrockets their profits. We will soon find out on September 3rd when the Note 4 is debuted Samsung will continue to keep it metal.
Motorola: The Moto X+1 has recnetly appeared on benchmark tests, and it will indeed come with a new processor. Some were worried that the X+1 was going to retain its 800 series Snapdragon CPU, but results show otherwise. The benchmark tests revealed that expected X+1 was clocked at 2.5GHz, which is what the 801 is clocked at. This is the same processor seen in the Galaxy S5, LG G3, and OnePlus One.
We’ll continue to keep you updated on all these devices towards their upcoming release. Make sure you follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to get information that we don’t always post on the website.
