Each week, there are dozens of rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what’s coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but many are totally bogus. As always, we’ve parsed the rumors, ranking them in order from “utterly ridiculous” to “duh, of course.” First up…
DON’T COUNT ON IT: 'iPhone 6' Photos Galore
Are they real? Are they fake? Are they early prototypes? It seems like every day there’s a new iPhone 6 "mockup." And while there’s a lot of consistency to the ones currently being photographed, it could simply mean the "leaks" (real or not) are coming from a single source. This week, some new prototypes were photographed outdoors of all places, and 9to5Mac got its hands on some units and videoed how they look compared to the current iPhone, the 5th generation iPod touch, and some cases.
DON’T COUNT ON IT: Purported iPad Pro Spotted on Weibo
If you're bored with the recent barrage of iPhone 6 photos, you'll be happy to know someone posted what they claim is the aluminum backplate for an iPad Pro on Weibo Friday. It doesn't look like it's an actual iPad part, but rather just an aluminum mockup. Anyone could have made this in their garage. It does show what a huge iPad would look like in someone's hand, though.
ASK AGAIN LATER: Future iPhones Could Get Virtual Wraparound Displays
Using a flexible OLED (or similar) display, Apple could wrap a device with a touch display loaded with extra virtual buttons. The patent "Electronic devices with sidewall displays" describes how at least one side of a mobile device could include an extension of the front-facing touch display, making it possible for that side to respond to touch signals. And instead of always having two volume buttons on the side, for example, the buttons could change depending on how you're using your phone, or what app is open. It could also show app icons, which you could quickly toggle between, calculator input buttons, or music playing controls, for example. This would certainly be an interesting development for a near-future iPhone, particularly on the right side of the device, which currently houses nothing but the SIM card opening.
ASK AGAIN LATER: Machine Learning Could Help Your iPhone Determine Your Mood
A patent for "Determining Preferential Device Behavior" shows how Apple could personalize your user experience based on your device preferences and settings. The applications mentioned in the patent for this AI technology are all over the place. Facial recognition, speech recognition, and even biometric sensors could be used to determine your mood. A home region, established with geo-fencing, could be used to determine when you're home or traveling, pulling up sightseeing recommendations or information about roaming charges when applicable. Messages sent to contacts in other countries could automatically get translated. I would expect Apple to implement some sort of predictive and learning algorithms to personalize your iPhone in the future, but this idea is still probably a ways off.
ASK AGAIN LATER: Apple Patent Helps You Avoid Misdirected Texts
With so many text messaging threads going on with different people, it's just a matter of time before you accidentally rush out a message to the wrong recipient. While your iMessages may still end up in purgatory, a newly published patent application outlines how Apple would at least help you make sure your messages are going to the right person. The solution is incredibly simple: Just add the contact's photo to the background of the conversation. For group chats, each person's photo would be overlaid or arranged in a grid. Apple could desaturate or otherwise adjust the photo so it's subtle and not distracting, and in a group chat scenario, highlight the image of the user who wrote last.
SIGNS POINT TO YES: Beats Cofounders Could Become Apple Execs, Make WWDC Appearance
If this Beats deal goes through as anticipated, Apple could announce cofounders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine as executives at its Worldwide Developers Conference this June, Billboard reports. Billboard has strong ties inside the music industry, so it’s likely this intel is accurate if the $3.2 billion deal does actually go through (thus far, it's reportedly delayed another week). Billboard also suggests the acquisition is at least partly to get Apple into the streaming music space. Another report from Bloomberg suggests Apple would still keep Beats' hardware business going strong as well, though.
SIGNS POINT TO YES: iOS 8 to Include Split-Screen Multitasking for the iPad
The next version of iOS will reportedly include a Windows 8-like split-screen multitasking feature, 9to5Mac reports. This would let iPad owners use two apps side-by-side, at the same time. This feature would only be available in landscape mode. The report claims iOS 8 will also make inter-app interactions easier, so you could potentially drag and drop text or images between one app and another--a feature making this split-screen feature far more useful for those trying to be productive.
SIGNS POINT TO YES: Apple Testing Larger 1704 x 960 Resolution iPhone
We've heard a hundred times by now that Apple is working on a larger screened iPhone. Specifically, the most common rumors are that Apple will release two versions, a smaller 4.7-inch model and a larger 5.5-inch one. 9to5Mac sheds some more light on this information though, with a report highlighting actual screen resolutions. While the 4-inch iPhone 5/5s features a 1136 x 640 resolution display, the larger iPhone will feature a 1704 x 960 resolution display. That's triple the pixels of the iPhone 5 and 5s. By doing so, Apple can keep the same 16:9 aspect ratio as earlier iPhones (and previously leaked mockups, renderings, and schematics all indicate Apple will keep this same aspect ratio for the iPhone 6). At this resolution, this means the smaller 4.7-inch model would have a pixel density of 416 PPI. The larger model would have a 356 PPI screen density compared to the current 326 PPI resolution.
