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Rumor Roundup: 2014 delayed until 2015 (developing)

Chris Rawson
Updated ·5 min read
0

Purported 'iPad Air 2' flex cables revealed in new photos (AppleInsider)

Ohhh, things are getting "exciting" now, with fresh spy shots of ribbon cables supposedly meant for the next-gen iPad Air. Feast your eyes upon these random electronic parts completely divorced from any meaningful context whatsoever! Thrill as rumor blogs endlessly speculate on what function these US$0.30 parts could have in a $400 iPad! Laugh uproariously as BGR dares to call these "key next-gen iPad Air components" with a straight face!

128 GB iPhone 6? Leaked schematics suggest it may happen (9to5 Mac)

Last week, when similar schematics leaked, the rumor blogs completely whiffed it with erroneous interpretations that next-gen iOS devices would still have only 1 GB of RAM. Turns out last week's schematics had nothing to do with the devices' RAM, and instead referred to their flash memory. So, with that in mind, I'm not putting a whole lot of faith in their analysis of this schematic.

Also, this is at least the third year in a row that 128 GB has been a rumored top-end capacity for the next-gen iPhone. I'd love to see it happen; that alone might convince me to upgrade. I'm not getting my hopes up.

iPhone 6 Information Leak Sourced from Foxconn Details Dimensions of 4.7-Inch and 5.5-Inch Versions (MacRumors)

One big red flag sticks out to me. A device codenamed N61 has its weight listed as "unknown." Why wouldn't Foxconn know the weight of a device it is supposedly building right now?

Also note the "proto" designations on the N56 larger version of the device, which almost certainly means "prototype," which means if Apple is planning on releasing this device at all (still a big if), it's a long road to hoe between this schematic and devices sitting on store shelves.

Apple Suppliers 'Scrambling' to Produce Enough iPhone 6 Displays After Issues With New Backlight (MacRumors)

These stories are the best kind of rumors, because they are absolutely unverifiable. Whether the next-gen iPhone is "delayed" or not is immaterial to the substance of this report. If the iPhone is delayed, rumor blogs have something to point to and say, "See? We told you so." If the iPhone isn't delayed or in short supply, this story will gather digital dust on Google's cached servers, but no human will ever care about it again. It almost doesn't even matter if this article is true or not, and we'll never know for sure one way or another. Fun!

China Telecom iPhone 6 Ad Suggests Simplified Model Lineup for Different Carrier Technologies (MacRumors)

This supposed China Telecom ad used a rendering of the iPhone rather than actual photos sourced from Apple, so it's anyone's guess why we're supposed to believe any of the printed copy included along with the faked images in this ad is genuine.

More Supply Chain Claims of Likely Early 2015 Launch for iWatch (MacRumors)

Some Asian publication "echoes the assertion" of some often-wrong analyst that a long-rumored but never-confirmed and unannounced Apple product will be "delayed" until next year.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what passes for "news" in the world of Apple rumors. No one has a clue what they're talking about, but we're apparently all meant to pay rapt attention anyway.

Despite Apple's efforts, the iPhone 6 won't be Samsung-free (BGR)

Speaking of people who don't have a clue what they're talking about, BGR cites a report from never-right publication Digitimes. Let me save you a click: Digitimes says the next iPhone will have RAM sourced from Samsung in addition to other suppliers.

The only thing dumber than the article itself is the comments. I never read the comments on a BGR article before today. After today, I never will again. Wow.

Conjecture Regarding Larger iPhone Displays (Daring Fireball)

John Gruber does a couple thousand words of rational and entertaining analysis on the most likely screen resolution for the next-gen iPhone. It's a great piece and definitely worth a read. The only part of it I disagree with is his assertion that "there's too much smoke around the 'two new iPhones, one at 4.7 inches and the other 5.5 inches' narrative for there not to be a fire." The only smoke I've seen so far has come from sources that are, to put it mildly, less than trustworthy.

Enough legitimate parts for the 4.7-inch iPhone have leaked so far that you could almost assemble a working device of your own at this point. Meanwhile, the only schematics and/or parts that have leaked for the supposed 5.5-inch model have had a very prototype vibe to them. If Apple is planning on selling this device at all, it doesn't seem like it's fully baked enough for a September announcement based on what we've seen so far.

Potential redesigned iPhone 6 USB power adapter shows up on Weibo (9to5 Mac)

Halfway into the article: "As far as legitimacy goes, it's hard to tell if the above image is of a genuine Apple power adapter." Yup. And the fact that it looks like an Americanised version of the existing Australia/New Zealand power adapter doesn't really prove anything either.

Reports reverse stance on iPhone 6 including reversible USB cable (9to5 Mac)

From the article: "We've now received word that Apple's new reversible Lightning to USB cable may not be ready in time to ship with the iPhone 6." Yeah, about that... I'm pretty sure absolutely no one was expecting this to come out in the next iPhone. Maybe the 2015 model, but not this one. Also, I guess we can throw yet another unannounced Apple product onto the "delayed until next year" pile. Man, Apple is going to have an absolutely amazing year... next year. Maybe.