One week away from the biggest event this year, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed a lot of new information about the iWatch, iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2, going against some of the rumors we have been hearing for the past few months.
Ming-Chi Kuo has been one of the most acclaimed analysts when it comes to Apple products, with good ties in Taiwan and China, allowing KGI to get the best analysis on the situation and what Apple is planning for the next year.
iWatch
The iWatch internals have been debated over for the past few months, some say Apple will go light in order to keep a thin aesthetic, others believe Apple needs to add more than most, due to the full iOS 8 package coming onto the smartwatch.
Ming-Chi Kuo claims the iWatch will be fitted with 8GB of storage and 512MB of RAM. No word on the processor, it is expected to be a lower-end A chip, used on one of the previous iPhones, fitted with new types of sensors.
The iWatch will come in two sizes, 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch, allowing Apple to change the pricing depending on size. There will also be a gold version of the iWatch, and Kuo believes Apple will use metal, aluminium and glass for the build.
Oddly, Kuo believes the iWatch will not have a circular display, instead opting for a rectangular display, with holes in the back to properly analyse sweat levels and other biometric data, to be used in HealthKit.
The iWatch will be shown off at the event on September 9, but Apple will not launch the device until early 2015.
iPhone 6
The iPhone 6 will also be split into two sizes, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. Some reports claim the larger variant will be named the iPhone Air, to go with the iPad Air, Ming-Chi Kuo had nothing to say on the name of the device.
The analyst did claim the two models would not get sapphire crystal glass, at least this year. This goes against rumors and video on YouTube, showing people experimenting with sapphire crystal glass models, showing the toughness.
Instead, Apple will upgrade the storage on the iPhone 6 to 128GB, but instead of dropping the 16GB model, they will keep it at a lower price. No word on if the iPhone 5C will return this year, Apple will most likely keep it as the cheapest model.
New sensors on the iPhone 6 include a barometric pressure sensor for indoor navigation and a “programmable Power button” on the side of the device, which could have different uses depending on the app.
The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will reportedly not launch until later this year, Apple is still working on yield-rate issues.
