iPhone 6 Said to Have 2GHz A8 Processor, Faster Wi-Fi, LTE-A, NFC

As we inch toward the iPhone 6 announcement, allegedly scheduled for September 9, more details emerge about the features that the highly anticipated handset is said to have built in. VentureBeat has a freshly updated list, although some of it apparently corroborates earlier reports.

The anonymous source speaking with VentureBeat ‘confirmed’ earlier reports about a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 and the possible delay between the two in terms of shipment: The 4.7-inch version will ship mid-September, but the bigger version may not hit the shelves until a month later.

But let’s talk about the features the handset will sport: Unfortunately for sapphire believers, Apple will allegedly skip the sapphire glass this year and replace the Gorilla Glass with something that’s softer than sapphire crystal but harder than Corning’s glass.

The A8 chip will be clocked at 2.0 GHz, says the source — by contrast, the A7 processor in the iPhone 5s is clocked at 1.3 GHz. Also, it will sport a faster Wi-Fi 802.11ac from Broadcom, while the cellular modem will be the latest version of Qualcomm’s MDM9x35. If we take this as granted, then you have LTE-A in the iPhone 6, which means speeds of up to 300 Mbps — confirming earlier reports.

A socket is reserved for a near field communication (NFC) chip that will make the new phones able to do mobile payments (finally), our source says. Apple will populate the socket with a chip made by NXP. The NXP chip’s element and radio reserve enough memory to encrypt, decrypt, and sign data packets coming from financial applications on the phone.

Rumours of an improved fingerprint sensor have been around this year, and the VentureBeat source confirmed them, saying the sensor will be more secure and optimized for mobile payments and biometrics.

Finally, Apple has plans for Beats headphones to use the Lightning connector, the source says.

Our source adds that Apple has also been playing around with some technology that would form a special “handshake” between iPhones and Beats headphones. This consists of a chip that would authenticate Beats headsets on iPhones using the Lightning connector. Whether or not that feature materializes is anybody’s guess.

Although some of the features mentioned by the source may sound familiar and feasible, this leak has to be taken with a grain of salt. Also, let’s not forget that VentureBeat doesn’t have the best track record when leaking information about unreleased Apple products.