What's Next From Apple?

iPhones, iPads and watches dominate the rumors

For the last several years, Apple has announced a new iOS version at their summer World Wide Developer Conference and then released a new iPhone in the fall that leverages that new iOS. It's time for that to happen again. On September 9th, Apple will make a set of announcements. The one sure thing is that a new iPhone, most likely called iPhone 6, will be announced and that it will run iOS 8. Other than that here are some of the strongest rumors.

1. Previous iPhones have had 3.5" or 4" displays. The iPhone 6 will have a screen size of 4.7" along the diagonal. Or maybe 5.5". Or maybe both, one version (or more?) at each size. This has been the biggest rumor, and there is still plenty of disagreement about which size we'll see. If we see both, there's disagreement about whether they'll be released at the same time or staggered.

2. The new iPhone 6 may have Near Field Communications (NFC), a technology that could be leveraged in a variety of ways – but the most anticipated application is for payment systems. Apple has a track record of waiting on new technologies while others deploy them early. Then Apple makes the set of design and application decisions that allow that technology to take hold. This could happen with NFC and payments. Apple has a large and growing customer base, and through their App Store and iTunes Store hold many credit card numbers. They are perfectly positioned to have a big impact on smartphone-based payment systems, with a huge initial user base.

3. The next rumor involves wrist wear. Apple is likely to announce iWatch or iTime or some sort of wrist-wearable computing device. It'll probably do all that the competitive products do and more.  Read texts, interact with your smartphone, and leverage the new iOS Healthkit to deliver health and fitness applications. It might even tell time! If Apple does announce a wearable, rumor has it that it may not ship until 2015, missing the lucrative holiday shopping season.

4. Finally, there's a rumor that we'll see a new version or two of the iPad. A new iPad Air with a faster processor and other boosted specs seems likely. Somewhat more speculative is the rumor that we'll see a larger iPad, perhaps an inch or two larger than the 9.7" display used by the standard iPad.

Which of these rumors seem most likely to you?

Which of these products would you buy?

Leave a comment and let us know.

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