The hype around Apple’s next smartphone is intense. Predictions from high-profile techies are spreading like wildfire, rumors trickling out of the company find an eager audience and leaks from Chinese manufacturers have set off weeks of debate.
Apple has the world on the edge of its seat — or it did. The company recently broke the spell when it accidentally leaked massive amounts of data on the next iPhone, confirming many of the device’s specs and features.
While it’s a bit anticlimactic, the new info gives us a glimpse of what Apple has in store for the next edition of its flagship smartphone, and the new tech Apple users can expect to see when it’s finally unveiled. We dig into it all on this week’s episode of Geared Up.
Listen to the show below, download the MP3, and watch the behind-the-scenes video above.
The leak comes in the form of code that Apple releases to third-party developers so they can prepare their products to work on the new iOS mobile operating system. Normally, information about new devices is redacted from the code, but this batch wasn’t supposed to be released publicly so coders were able to glean details about the next iPhone that were never meant to be revealed.
First and possibly most striking is the device’s design. The screen will take up most of the device’s face, with incredibly thin bezels lining each side. A notch in the top of the screen will house the front-facing camera and other sensors.
The home button will also see a big change — it’s gone entirely, along with its built-in fingerprint scanner. There will likely be a digital home button instead, that stays in a constant spot on the phone’s screen.
Clues in the code say using fingerprints as an ID may be out all together, replaced with advanced 3D face-modeling using sensors at the top of the phone. Several clues also point to advanced virtual and augmented reality features, like face-locking camera filters. Check out this breakdown for more details on the leaks.
We also take a look at a very different smartphone offering: the T-Mobile Revvl, the wireless carrier’s own brand of phone that’s on sale for just $125.
Geared Up hosts Andru Edwards and Todd Bishop tested the phone out on a trip to the Seahawks training camp, and while it might not be their first choice tech-wise, they said it’s a great deal for the price.
The phone runs on Android Nougat and Todd says it was pretty fast and responsive. Hardware wise, it’s comparable to the iPhone 6, with a similar camera resolution and screen size. But because the Revvl has smaller bezels, the device is smaller than either the iPhone 6 or 7, even though the screen size is comparable.
All in all, it’s a great deal for those who want a smartphone without breaking the bank.
Also on this episode, we share the answer to last week’s Geared Up trivia challenge and announce the winner of the Alexa-powered Echo Show. Plus, we discuss Consumer Report’s rebuke of the Surface devices and Microsoft’s response.
