Rumor Roundup: Schrödinger's iPhone
At least 9to5 Mac had the decency to put "confirm" in sarcastiquotes. These photos look like they were taken in someone's basement.
Our Sources Say the Next iPhone Will Include NFC Mobile Payments (WIRED)
Yet another tech publication throws its hat into the "iPhone will have NFC" ring. Some people are fond of saying "where there's smoke, there's fire." The problem is, sometimes that smoke is just being blown up your backside. We've been on this NFC merry-go-round for the past three models of iPhone, so don't get your hopes up - no matter what these "sources" may say, NFC isn't a lock until or unless it's actually announced onstage at the upcoming September 9 event.
Analyst & GTAT investor claims all 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models get sapphire, some 4.7-inch models (9to5 Mac)
Some analyst regurgitates earlier rumors, without any actual concrete proof for his claims, and 9to5 Mac predictably reblogs his nonsense. This happens so often that I really ought to set up a keyboard macro and save myself the time and effort of typing the whole sentence.
Another major new iPhone 6 feature was just confirmed... and this one is HUGE (BGR)
Saved you a click: this is just BGR repeating what WIRED said, but in a far more clickbaity fashion. We've come to expect no less from BGR. And no more.
The iPhone 6 you're waiting for might not be unveiled on September 9th (BGR)
Saved you another click: according to some sketchy Chinese source, the 5.5-inch screened iPhone 5 won't be announced at the upcoming September 9 event. So now this unconfirmed device is both delayed and coming soon, both due to be announced and to have its announcement delayed. It's nice to see we have all the bases covered now. It's Schrödinger's iPhone.
Why on earth does anyone take any of these rumormongering clowns seriously?
Bloomberg corroborates Apple wearable to be announced at Sept. 9 event (9to5 Mac)
Oh, well, if Bloomberg says it, then it must be true. Because they've never, ever published an untrue rumor about unreleased Apple products. And for that matter, neither has 9to5 Mac. Trustworthy paragons of journalism, all of them.
Apple reportedly taps chipmaker NXP for 'iPhone 6' NFC solution (AppleInsider)
Another Asian source chimes in with more "evidence" that the next iPhone will have NFC.
Listen, it's not like it's entirely out of the question that Apple may be interested in this technology, or that it may debut in the next iPhone. But we have literally been down this road three times already, in the iPhone 4s, the iPhone 5, and the iPhone 5s. All three were heavily rumored to feature NFC, and all three debuted without it. Give me one good reason why any of us should believe these rumors again this year.
Apple Wearable Won't Ship Until Next Year (re/code)
The headline pretty much says it all. Paczkowski has a good track record thus far... but everyone misses eventually.
New pictures show off alleged iPhone 6 logic board, A8, and NFC chip (9to5 Mac)
From the article: "There's no way to tell if these claims are legitimate."
Imagine if every news organisation behaved this way, just reporting whatever BS happened to cross their desk.
"Sources in Florida are reporting a 747 has crashed into Epcot Center, but there's no way to tell if these claims are legitimate."
"This just in: people familiar with the matter report that Russia has launched a nuclear attack against the Ukraine. Obviously this report could have been faked, but rumors thus far lend credence to the claim."
"Breaking news from Japan: sources report a 40-story reptilian creature has emerged from the sea and is terrorizing Tokyo. Right now we'll show you a mockup of what the attack might look like, as produced by Twitter user @slappysackmeister, a graphic designer from Los Tontos, New Mexico."
If there's no way to tell if a claim is legitimate, then perhaps you shouldn't be reporting it? Just a thought.
Support for 3x image assets found in latest iOS 8 beta ahead of larger display iPhone 6 (9to5 Mac)
Although the sleuthing is impressive and the evidence for this claim entirely satisfactory, the shotgunning of resolutions in the final paragraph is hilarious. None of these people have any clue what the display resolution of the next iPhone will be.
I wish they did, honestly. I'm a web developer for my day job, and it would be very useful to know in advance if I need to tinker with the responsive template on my sites.
4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Built From Parts Supports Theory of 1334 x 750 Display (MacRumors)
Normally I scorn the rumor blogs when they go all "Zoom... enhance" on leaked photos like this, but for once their argument actually seems to hold water. That could just be wishful thinking on my part; the rumored 667 x 375 point resolution means I won't have to do any extra work to get my websites to fully support the next iPhone's display.
Apple execs discuss $400 price point for wearable with the media, what do you think? (9to5 Mac)
This $400 price tag has been widely reported... but, perhaps still stinging from their wounds in early 2010, the rumor blogs are also taking pains to admit that the rumored $1000 price point for the iPad turned out to be completely bogus.
Without seeing this "wearable" or hearing any legitimate reports on its features, I couldn't even begin to believe in any rumored price.
Apple has reached agreements w/ American Express & MasterCard to work on iPhone payments system (9to5 Mac)
If Apple just now signed this agreement with the major US credit card institutions, then how in the world are we supposed to expect that the iPhone that will be announced a week and a half from now is going to feature NFC?
