Earlier this month, we speculated that Apple's iPhone 6 may be released this year. The speculation was fueled by the release of certain leaked photographs purporting to be images of the phone on the assembly line—which are more likely to belong to a new iteration of the existing iPhone 5 rather than an all new phone.
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek (via BusinessInsider) says that Apple had originally intended to release a 4.8-inch iPhone 6 this year, but its manufacture faced setbacks, forcing the company to delay its release to at least June 2014. The suggestion that the company is working on a much larger display goes against Tim Cook's statement last year that the iPhone 5 is the perfect screen size. Misek believes that Cook simply said that to persuade consumers into buying the iPhone 5 instead of waiting for a model with a larger display.
According to the analyst, the plan was to release the iPhone 6 by the end of 2013, in time for its October. However, the company's screen suppliers are unable to fulfill demands to increase the size of the 4-inch screen to a whopping 4.8-inches. Misek also suggests that the reason the company is holding back the release of the iPhone 6 for as long as it plans is because it may be planning to implement a 20nm processor, adding more cores to the phone and thus giving it much better performance. The architecture for the chips may not be ready until next year.
With regards to the screen, the iPhone uses an "in-cell" technology which essentially meshes the touch screen with the glass into a single, thin display. Unfortunately, the delicate process has yet to be perfected with larger screens. Manufacturers have been reportedly unable to produce large enough yields for the release of the iPhone 6 this year.
The analyst claims that the iPhone 6 would've been Apple's third phone this year, as the company has plans for the iPhone 5S and a low-cost model. Both phones have yet to be revealed.
