Rumors: iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6S release date 2015 and the plastic 6C

By Jerry Miller | February 1, 2015

Plans for the next iPhone, from its specs to its release date, are coming together already – it’s just not yet clear whether those plans are for an iPhone 6S or an iPhone 7. Hot off the success of its biggest quarter ever, Apple now has to decide which direction to take its smartphone lineup in next. One path is to stick to the pattern, launch the 6S, and ride the wave of popularity for another year. The other is to make the bold move of skipping straight to the 7 and going for the kill. Either way, details from the involvement of Samsung in the A9 processor to the role the iWatch will play are coming into focus.

The next Apple flagship smartphone, whether it be the iPhone 6S or the iPhone 7, will be built around the A9 microprocessor. The chip represents a major step forward in term of speed and power over the current A8 architecture. Those chips get designed in-house, but are outsourced for manufacturing. Apple has gone out of its way to take business away from Samsung’s manufacturing arm as part of the ongoing legal battles between the two tech rivals. But the A9 may see a shift back toward Samsung, whose revenues have fallen off a cliff in recent quarters, who may be willing to make intellectual property concessions just to get the factory business back.

The iWatch (now officially the Apple Watch) has also seen its launch date set in stone for April of this year, presenting the opportunity to hold the iPhone 6S release date alongside it, just half a year after the iPhone 6 launch. Such a move would be aimed at boosting the number of people with an iWatch-compatible iPhone model. The iPhone 7 would then be launched either in the fall of this year or the spring of next year, depending on 6S sales trajectory.

But there is another scenario in which Apple holds off until this fall and then holds the iPhone 7 and 6S release dates at the same time. The 7 would be the flagship model with the new A9 processor from Samsung and the external redesign, while the 6S would the be mid range model with an A8X chip and a familiar design. That would then open the door for a plastic iPhone 6C to be introduced as the low end model, aimed primarily at younger buyers and those on a tighter budget.