A report from The Wall Street Journal today indicates Apple is asking its suppliers to deliver a record breaking 85 million to 90 million units of its next-generation ‘iPhone 6s’ handset. Apple reportedly ordered an initial production run of 70 million to 80 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets last year.
The report supports the much-rumored presence of a Force Touch feature on both the “iPhone 6s,” and it’s larger sibling, the iPhone 6s Plus.” Force Touch, currently used in the Apple Watch and some recent models of the MacBook, allows the device to distinguish the difference between a light tap or a hard press, and then respond accordingly.
As well as the Force Touch feature, the WSJ report also includes the much-rumored new color options, likely rose gold or pink. As usual, Foxconn and Pegatron are expected to be the main assembly partners for the new handsets, although Apple might elect to make use of assembly partner Wistron if needed.
Well-connected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was among the first to say Apple’s new handsets will keep the current 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes, but will see internal improvements, including an A9 processor with 2GB of RAM, a faster Qualcomm LTE chip, and improved back-facing and front-facing cameras.
