Apple iPhone 6S

We now know one thing: Apple will unveil the next iPhone on September 9, 2015.

                         

The Apple invitation teases with the line, "Hey, Siri, give us a hint." Apple

If Cupertino sticks to its script for upgrades -- big redesigns for even numbered years, internal specs updates for odd ones -- we can likely expect something a bit less radical than the big-screen phablet makeover the iPhone got in 2014. There will surely be some surprises, however.

We have, for months now, curated a collection of the Internet's best conjecture and educated guessing about the next generation. We present here a curated collection of gossip, hearsay, and prognostications about Apple's next big thing

Announcement and release dates

Before the official invitations were sent out, Buzzfeed correctly reported that Apple will launch the next iPhone (alongside new versions of the iPad and Apple TV) on September 9. The timing is consistent with that of previous years -- including the iPhone 6, which was announced on the same day last year. Some reports have tagged September 18 as a possibility for the date that the iPhone 6S will be available for purchase.

                            

iOS

Apple unveiled iOS 9 at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8. Though much of the news was peripheral to the iPhone -- an update to Siri, enhancements to Apple Pay, new map functionality, and a new News app -- there were also promises made about improvements in animation and scrolling on all iOS devices, and extended battery life on the iPhone. Apple says the operating system's new low-power mode could extend battery life by three hours on some devices.

Processor

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus both come equipped with the A8, a 64-bit dual-core processor that delivers excellent performance. Though newer competitors such as the HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6 delivered superior scores in CNET's benchmark testing, hands-on use revealed minimal differences among the three.
According to Bloomberg, sources report that Samsung will produce the main chip in the next iPhone model, which will presumably be the A9. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the A9 processor, paired with 2GB of RAM, will deliver a considerable bump in power and speed compared to the iPhone 6. In July, the DigiTimes reported that Samsung and TSMC had begun mass producing the A9 chips -- enough to power 80 or 90 million iPhones.
Also in July, 9to5mac.com reported that the next iPhone will contain a Qualcomm processor, the '9X35′ Gobi chip, which will offer "significant performance improvements," potentially doubling the current generation's LTE network speeds.

Camera

In August, Apple offered to replace iPhone 6 Pluses equipped with faulty iSight cameras; you can look up your serial number here to see if your phone is eligible for the free repair. Apple's April 2015 acquisition of Israeli firm LinX Computational has fueled rumors of significant enhancements in camera technology coming with the next iPhone. Specific predictions include multiple apertures that can provide dSLR-quality photos packed into a tinier form factor that could ultimately allow for an even thinner handset.
Kevin Wong, chief executive at market intelligence firm IHS China, posits that Apple will increase the rear camera's pixel count from 8 to 12 megapixels. If true, this could have implications for photo quality.