iPhone 6 interest at record levels thanks to 'large screen' rumours: Survey

Thanks to the rumours that Apple will release two large screen iPhone variants in September, the iPhone 6 seems to be already generating a huge level of consumer interest.

According to a survey from 451 Research's ChangeWave, the desire of buying the next-generationiPhone has reached new heights. For the yet-to-be-announced iPhone 6, 14 percent of the consumers are "very likely" to buy the device, while 26 percent said they were "somewhat likely" to purchase it.

The survey, which was answered by over 4,000 mostly North American respondents, asked customer if they would buy an iPhone 6 based on the speculations, such as a larger display, gesture control, an updated iOS, an even faster processor than the iPhone 5s, and a starting price of $199 (with 2-year contract).

As noted by 451 Research, the level of interest is up from the last surveys for the iPhone 5s and a March 2012 survey for the iPhone 5.

"This is the highest level of demand for an unannounced Apple model in a ChangeWave survey - stronger than we've seen in previous years for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5 models prior to their announcements," said Andy Golub of 451 Research. "Speculation over a larger screen iPhone is clearly striking a chord with consumers."

451 Research's ChangeWave surveys have been tracking consumer interest in larger-screen smartphones since 2012 - and throughout this time it has seen a growing interest. In the latest survey, nearly half (47%) of planned smartphone buyers say they're most interested in buying a 5-inch screen or larger - the highest level since the question was added to the survey.

While the survey suggests that consumers are really digging the idea of Apple's next large-screen iPhone, it is likely to catch-up to the Samsung Galaxy S5 buying interest on the release day. The same company found greater consumer interest in Galaxy S5 than any other S-series Galaxy smartphone

iPhone 6 tipped with 389ppi 'Ultra-Retina' display, 5.59mm thickness

New rumours have surfaced online for Apple's upcoming iteration of the iPhone handset. The rumours hint the iPhone 6 will arrive with a much thinner body, powerful processor and a higher pixel density screen.

The rumours come from Sonny Dickson, the Australian teen who rose to fame in the build up to the release of iPhone 5s with what turned out to be largely accurate leaks. Dickson, in one of his four tweets on the subject, said, "iPhone 6 will be 0.22 inches thick #JustSaying." The measurement barely comes around to 5.59mm, which is just 0.04mm thicker than what is claimed to be the world's slimmest handset, the Gionee Elife S5.5.

Dickson also mentioned the inclusion of an Ultra-Retina screen, which will pack 389 pixels per inch (ppi). The tipster furthermore talked about the chipset that might arrive in the next Apple iPhone. "The new Apple A8 processor will run at 2.6GHz #JustSaying," his tweet read.

Dickson finally tweeted "These specs could be the real thing #JustSaying." One can only wait for the device to launch officially to know what Apple has in stock for its fans.

Based on the previous leaks, it has been indicated that the iPhone 6 might sport a bezel-less display. In addition, another report claimed that the iPhone 6 will pack a larger 8-megapixel camera sensor, and will sport an aperture size of f/2.0, as compared to the iPhone 5's f/2.4 and iPhone 5s' f/2.2.

Further, the alleged iPhone 6 will sport OIS (optical image stabilisation) and a CMOS sensor manufactured by Sony, reports have indicated