This Week's Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible - Wired

Apple announced the Retina display iPad mini on Tuesday. Photo: Christina Bonnington/WIRED

Each week, there are dozens of Apple rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what’s coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but most are totally bogus. This week, much of what we’ve been hearing for the past few months was either validated or debunked at Apple’s October media event. But of course, we’re always wondering what’s next out of Cupertino. So we’ve parsed the week’s rumors, ranking them in order from “utterly ridiculous” to “duh, of course.” First up…

VERY DOUBTFUL: iPhone 6 This Summer, iWatch in the Works

Gene Munster, fierce proponent of Apple’s rumored television set issued a set of predictions for the company’s next year. Firstly, Munster predicts Apple’s iPhone 6 will launch in the summer with a larger display, and it’ll be a “blockbuster.” He also predicts a computerized iWatch is being developed. There’s been a lot of speculation that Apple’s next iPhone will feature a larger display, but it seems that Apple has switched to a fall launch schedule for the iPhone. As for the iWatch, yeah, there’s definitely some wearables action going on inside Apple research labs, but who knows when or how it’ll actually come to fruition. Here’s another theory: Maybe the iPhone 6 IS Apple’s television. Dun dun dunnnn.

DON’T COUNT ON IT: 65-inch Apple Television Coming in 2014

We’ve been hearing the whispers for years now, but still no Apple television has emerged from the shadows. Advanced Research analyst Masahiko Ishino says it’s on the way though: According to his sources, Apple is deciding on specifications of the 4K set. He said it would feature a “frameless” design, be available in 55- and 65-inch models, and fall in the $1,500 to $2,500 price range. It certainly seems like Apple will be getting into the 4K game now that its Mac Pro, out in December, is 4K capable. But it seems more likely to us — for now at least — that Apple may go the 4K Thunderbolt display route before it ventures into TV land.

ASK AGAIN LATER: Apple Patent Uses Human Recognition to Personalize Content

A patent application published Thursday describes how Apple could use our increasingly powerful mobile devices to sense a person’s physical features and customize content using that information. This would potentially aid in the privacy of content consumption, while making it simpler and safer. Basically, the concept assigns profiles and privileges to the different types of people that enter a room, or stand in front of a display — it would recognize a child versus an adult versus an elderly person, for example. If you, an adult, are watching an R-rated movie and it detects that a child has walked in the room, it would automatically halt movie playback until the child leaves, for example. You could also log in to devices using this tech. The idea certainly seems feasible, but such technology could be implemented a number of ways, and may still be a few years off (if Apple did decide to use this technology in the first place).

ASK AGAIN LATER: Apple Working on iPad Keyboards

It didn’t surface at Apple’s media event this week, but Apple has reportedly been thinking about creating its own iPad keyboard. The report stresses that the only thing glimpsed thus far have been prototypes. iPad and tablet-specific keyboards are fairly popular accessories for those looking to do more than just casual word-processing on their mobile machines. If Apple made its own, while not a novel idea, it would certainly be a moneymaking one. Perhaps we’ll see Apple-made iPad keyboards by the time the holidays roll around…or maybe Apple will just continue to let third-party manufacturers control that realm.

SIGNS POINT TO YES: iPad Mini Supplies to Be ‘Ridiculously’ Constrained

That pixel-packed Retina display comes at a price. Every time Apple has released a new Retina display product, supplies have been tight during launch time. The new iPad mini with Retina display will reportedly be no exception. IHS analyst Rhoda Alexander says Retina iPad mini numbers will be “ridiculously tight” when it’s set to debut this November.

via apple - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFCLhrNiC7-MeyJ_Mj2-yHwS-eBHg&url=http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/10/whats-next-apple-rumors/