Given what we've heard so far, allied to Apple's tendency to deliver 's' upgrades every other year, and it's looking evermore likely that the next-gen iPhone will be more of a spec bump than a major advance on the iPhone 6. A recent leak of the supposed "iPhone 6s" housing underlines the notion that most of the changes will be under the hood. Now. we're hearing that among the enhancements to the iPhone's engine, Apple may be adding a faster LTE chip to the fore.
A source of 9to5Mac has shared a snap of a prototype iPhone 6s logic board, featuring -- among other things -- Qualcomm's MDM9635M LTE processor. Also referred to as the '9X35', it boasts a performance bump from the 9X25 found within the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and would offer, in theory, twice the data speeds.
Already found within the South Korean variant of the Samsung Galaxy S5, the chip maxes out at 300 Mbps down, which is twice the 150 Mbps max of the current iPhone models. But there's a whole lot of difference between maximum speeds and real-world performance, and as 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman points out, iPhone 6s users probably won't see speeds of above the 225 Mbps mark, depending on network.
The upload cap stands at an unchanged 50 Mbps, but for browsing, streaming, downloading and so forth, it's the download speed that mobile consumers are most focused on. The Category 6 chip is, according to the report, backwards-compatible with most cellular standards including, but not limited to DC-HSPA, EVDO Rev. B, CDMA 1x, GSM and TD-SCDMA.
Aside from better speeds, the LTE processor is also more efficient, meaning potential saves on battery life. The report also mentions that the mobo of the newer iPhones may be narrower than the current fleet, so in addition, there's also scope for Apple to bundle a larger battery.
On the battery-saving front, we also know that iOS 9 will play a major role. The Low Power Mode, which touts many hours of additional battery gains, will deactivate certain software functions in order to spare those precious droplets of juice. Additionally, benchmarks of beta iOS 9 versions suggest that processor throttling will also take place, allowing users to reduce performance in favor of longevity.
So, a speed improvement seems to be in the pipeline for the iPhone 6s, and while many users won't be able to reap the benefits, those potential battery gains will be more than welcome.
Ben Reid is known for his extensive coverage of mobile technology updates, product launches, and detailed reviews of the latest smartphones, helping tech enthusiasts stay ahead with timely and accurate information.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: