iPhone 6 to Feature 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 2.0 GHz A8 Chip, NFC, Improved Touch ID, More

The iPhone 6 will reportedly feature 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a 2.0 GHz A8 processor, NFC, improved Touch ID, and possibly a special chip for authenticating Beats headsets, reports VentureBeat.

Sources tell the site that as rumored a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch model of the iPhone 6 are under development; however, the 4.7-inch version will likely ship first with the larger smartphone shipping weeks or even a month later.

The site believes that the new smartphones will feature a display cover that is made out of an extremely hard material that's slightly stronger than Gorilla Glass but not as hard as sapphire. This is in line with leaked front panel videos that showed a very strong part which wasn't as durable as pure sapphire.


The iPhone 6 is said to feature a new A8 chip that will run at 2.0 GHz per core resulting in faster response time and graphics rendering. It will also have a faster Wi-Fi with support for 802.11ac. Apparently Apple is working on its own Wi-Fi chip with engineers hired from Texas Instruments; however, it has yet to achieve the range and performance needed to utilize its own chips.

Qualcomm's MDM9x35 cellular modem is said to be the modem that will used for the iPhone 6. The new modem supports Category 6 LTE, a faster version of the technology that allows top speeds of 300 megabits per second.

Apple may be finally ready to embrace NFC making the iPhone 6 ready for mobile payments. The chip used will reportedly come from NXP. Apple will also make minor improvements to Touch ID, boosting its read time, reducing false rejections, and improving security for mobile payments.

Finally, Apple has been experimenting with a technology that forms a special 'handshake' between iPhones and Beats headphones. Apple just closed its acquisition of the company at the beginning of the month. The chip would "authenticate Beats headsets on iPhones using the Lightning connector"; however, it's unclear if the feature will materialize.


Apple is expected to unveil iPhone 6 on September 9th. Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.

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