Apple is very tight lipped about their products, and their iPhone is certainly no exception, but when products depend on global manufacturing, it's nearly impossible to keep good secrets contained.
Apple's Been Worried for a While Now
Apple has seen its growth decrease over the past couple of years, and the biggest reason is likely Samsung's dominance in the Android market.
As Sammie became the number one Android handset manufacturer in the world, mainly due to their diverse products and incredible marketing, Apple's "cool" factor began to slip. They don't want Samsung grabbing market share—especially from them—and their strategy has been made public thanks to the Apple/Samsung patent trial.
According to these leaked slides, Apple knows that "consumers want what we don't have," namely larger screens and lower prices. The new Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5.1 inch display (the Galaxy S4 had 5) and the Galaxy Note 3 has a 5.7 inch one (the Galaxy Note 2 was 5.5) in comparison to the measly 4 inches on the iPhone 5S.
Then there's the leaked email from Philip Schiller, the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Apple, who wrote about Samsung's Super Bowl marketing from 2013, stating his displeasure with the iPhone's marketing.
And of course, there's the late Steve Jobs and his "Holy War with Google", where it's apparent that even back in 2010, there were concerns about stagnation and "innovator's dilemma".
Taking all these factors into play, here's why I'm certain the next iteration of the iPhone will sport a larger display and frame.
Exhibit A: Larger Screen
French blog nowhereelse has posted images from Weibo user jiezhixc of the supposed screen for the iPhone 6, held next to the iPhone 5S.
Aside from the light sensor being further from speaker grill, this has all the signs of an iPhone screen: front facing camera above the thin horizontal speaker grill and a singular round button on the bottom.
Exhibit B: Larger Mold
Also courtesy of nowhereelse are a couple of shots of the manufacturing mold for the iPhone 6.
These leaks are supposedly from the Foxconn factory is China where the majority of iPhones are manufactured. Now keep in mind, the original images have been edited to show approximate sizes as compared to the iPhone 5S, which has been superimposed next to the mold.
Exhibit C: Larger Case
Along with manufacturing of the actual phone, OEMs also need to make sure they have plenty of accessories available at launch, and they are usually a great indicator of general size and layout of the devices they are meant to accompany.
Of course there may not be the slightest bit of legitimacy to this—photos like this can be easily manipulated, and for all we know these could be the exact same case with some Photoshop treatment. But as rumors go, we'll take them as just that...rumors.
Exhibit D: Larger Battery
Finally, a bigger phone should mean a bigger battery to power everything, and this may be a peak at the new battery for the iPhone 6.
Again, these could belong to any multitude of devices, but these type of elongated batteries are standard fare for iPhones, as you can see with the iPhone 5 battery below.
So there you have it—lots of evidence to support a bigger iPhone, but of course, we won't hear a peep from Apple until the iPhone 6 launch in September.
Until then, tell us your thoughts on a bigger iPhone. Many have been clamoring for it, and many have been steadfast in their love of a smaller screen. Which side of the fence do you fall on?
iPhone 5 battery picture courtesy of iFixIt
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