MacFormat UK – June 2019

The new iPhones are likely to

be able to wirelessly charge

other Qi-compatible devices

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JUNE 2019 | MACFORMAT | 7

5NM iPHONE CHIPS

iPhone chip maker TSMC has

been working on 5nm chips,

which could land in 2020

iPhones and bring better

performance and battery life.

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15 TO 17IN MACBOOK

Kuo also predicts Apple will

launch a 15in or 17in MacBook

in the first half of 2021. It was

not made clear if this will be a

MacBook Pro, Air or new form

factor for the 12in MacBook.

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6K APPLE DISPLAY

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-

Chi Kuo says Apple is working

on a 31.6in 6K display with

mini LED backlighting, to be

released mid-2019.

Apple

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11%

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T

he iPhone SE was popular among people

seeking a smaller iPhone, but that wasn’t

enough to stop Apple from axing it. If a

report from PC-Tablet is to be believed, though, Apple

could be working on a new version of the more petite

smartphone dubbed the iPhone XE.

This model, due out in the third quarter of 2019,

will retain the familiar rectangular body of the SE,

albeit with many features from Apple’s latest iPhones.

The report states that it will be equipped with the A

Bionic chip and Face ID, while the 4.8in AMOLED display

will be edge-to-edge except for a notch to house the

front-facing cameras and Face ID sensors. The rear-

facing 12-megapixel camera will have an aperture of

f/1.8, similar to that on the iPhone XR.

To cut costs, the back of the device will be

aluminium instead of glass, meaning it will not work

with wireless charging mats. The report states that the

iPhone XE will start at $600 (about £459), going up to

$800 (about £612) depending on the storage

configuration you choose.

We’re a little sceptical about the report, however,

as it goes on to claim that the iPhone XR will be

discontinued in 2019 due its “poor performance

in the market”. Apple, meanwhile, has stated that

the XR is its most popular iPhone.

New iPhone SE

An updated model, branded XE, is in

the works according to a new report

that it’s suggesting this three-lens camera
would be on two entirely new models,
not a refreshed XS Max.

Changing size and charge
Mac Otakara cites unnamed sources in
Apple’s Chinese supply chain, and claims
that the new phones would come with 6.1in
and 6.5in OLED displays. It goes on to say
that the bodies of the phones would be
slightly thicker than Apple’s 2018 iPhones
to account for the new camera hardware
inside; the 6.1in model, for example, would
be around 0.15mm thicker than the iPhone
XS, with a 0.5mm reduction in the camera
bump. The body of the 6.5in model,
meanwhile, would be 0.4mm thicker than

that of the iPhone XS Max, with a 0.25mm

reduction in the camera protrusion.

Other details in the report indicated

that the two new phones would come with

a USB-C to Lightning cable and an 18W

USB-C charger – the first time an iPhone

would get a charger of that capacity.

According to the report, the new

models are also likely to be able to

wirelessly charge other Qi-compatible

devices from the rear of the phone.

That could mean being able to place your

second-generation AirPods charging

case on the back of the new iPhones

to charge them up.

The ability to charge other devices

may require a larger battery, something

that has been reported on

before. However, Apple is

said to be struggling to fit

a larger battery into the

iPhone chassis alongside the

expanded camera array.