According to the rumor-mill, Apple’s suppliers have recently begun volume production of key components for the upcoming iPhones, such as an Apple-designed ‘A9’ processor and chassis. These parts will be soon, or already are, all over the place in Asia so little wonder we’re now starting to see first component leaks.
The leakage kicked off with a claimed rear housing which has seemingly confirmed minuscule changes to the interior and a stronger body. The leaks now continue with a photo of a rumored front panel of the ‘iPhone 6s,’ published Thursday by French blog NowhereElse.fr.
What you see here is allegedly the front panel of the next-generation iPhone refresh. As you can see for yourself, it looks virtually the same as the present-generation iPhone 6’s front panel.
This is hardly surprising.
Apple typically keeps the iPhone’s design intact over two generations before making noticeable changes to the phone’s look and feel. Last year’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus refreshes have brought us a rounder, much sleeker design.
Given it’s now an iPhone “S” year, we don’t really anticipate significant changes to the current design until an ‘iPhone 7’ comes along some time in 2016.
According to the site’s source, these panels are currently in production at a supplier factory. The source even provided photos depicting a worker whose face is blurred to protect his identity. The worker appears to be packing parts for shipment.
The front plates should be delivered to Foxconn and Pegatron, the companies Apple typically commissions to assemble iPhones.
The French publication claims to have received images of the front panel from a trusted source, who has confirmed that white panels are for white and gold iPhone 6s devices (shocker). However, he couldn’t tell if the new iPhones will have pressure-sensitive screen, as previously rumored.
Sadly, it’s impossible to make an educated guess based on these shots as to whether or not the leaked part has Force Touch sensors, let alone if the screen has a sapphire coating or the traditional Gorilla Glass.
NowhereElse.fr has emerged as a reliable source of production parts for upcoming Apple gadgets and this particular leak looks as real as these things get.
Source: NowhereElse.fr (Google Translate)