iPhone 6 Rumors, Release Date: 5.5-Inch ‘Phablet’ Production to Start up in July, Report Says

Apple's iPhone still the smartphone of choice among Canadians. (Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images)

Apple is reportedly beginning production of the 5.5-inch “phablet” iPhone 6 models in a month and that model as well as the smaller variant will be launched sometime in September.

Bloomberg News reported that producers in China are to start up mass production of the iPhone 6 models. The news agency cited unnamed “people familiar with the plans” of Apple.

The other, smaller variant will be 4.7-inches, which is larger than the iPhone 5s, which has a 4-inch screen. The phones will both be shipped sometime in September, the report stated.

The September rumors are in line with Apple’s existing phone launch schedule.

Apple is also slated to unveil the new iPhones in the near future as other smartphone producers like Samsung and HTC have unveiled their new models for the year.

Foxconn, the largest components manufacturer for Apple, is also poised to hire 100,000 people to help produce the iPhone 6, reported the Economic Daily News in Taiwan. That hiring figure represents a 10 percent increase in the company’s overall workforce. 

Taiwan-based Foxconn usually hires more people to ramp up production on Apple iPhone models each year, but this is believed to be a record hiring spree.

The report also states Pegatron, another Apple manufacturer, will boost its staff at a plant by 30 percent.

A new rumors is saying the iPhone 6 will also include a “barometer for super-accurate local weather.”

“Barometers measure air pressure and are a staple part of meteorology, being the most accurate way to determine local LOCM +3.14% weather. With Apple’s growing focus on health and sport, being able to analyse microclimates quickly would have major benefits to runners, cyclists, hikers and even those just walking to the shops,” writes Forbes magazine.

The new iPhone is said to have larger screens that come with curved glass as well as better sensors to detect different levels of pressure., according to Bloomberg, referring to a material called 2.5-dimension glass.

The iPhone 6 will also very likely come with the recently-unveiled iOS 8 software.