Tag Archives: edn

iPhone 14 battery life may improve because of better 5G chip

The rumor: Apple is planning to put a significantly upgraded 5G chip inside iPhone 14 models later this year, according to Economic Daily News (EDN, 83.3% accurate).

Here’s what you should know…

  • The new 5G chips will be manufactured entirely by TSMC using a new 6nm process, resulting in a chip design that is smaller but also consumes less power
  • Wi-Fi 6E will also be supported on this new 5G chip, meaning that iPhone 14 could also gain that faster wireless tech, too

Sam’s take: One of the biggest problems with 5G right now is that the modems and chips consume a significant amount of energy over 4G…and that leads to worse battery life. This could fix half of the equation and I can only imagine the improvements when compounded atop a more efficient A16 processor.

iPhone 14 enters trial production as development continues

The rumor: Apple is moving forward with trial production for iPhone 14 right now, according to Economic Daily News (83.3% accurate).

Here’s what you should know…

  • The purpose of trial production is to “collect data, correct abnormalities, evaluate the production process and products that need to be improved, and evaluate whether the trail-produced products are acceptable”
  • Trial production for the new iPhone models begins in February/March each year in order “to establish appropriate production and testing machines” and “establish a quality monitoring process”

Our take: It appears that design-wise, things are pretty much ready to go for iPhone 14. But we won’t know if Apple encounters and significant delays or issues until we hear how trial production is progressing. As of now, expect the iPhone 14 in September, per usual.

2021 iPhone will be called ‘iPhone 13,’ according to least accurate source of all-time

The rumor: This year’s iPhone will be called “iPhone 13,” according to Economic Daily News (EDN) (38.6% accurate, source).

  • The new report says the 5.4, 6.1 and 6.7-inch iPhone models will be called “iPhone 13 mini,” “iPhone 13,” “iPhone 13 Pro,” and “iPhone 13 Pro Max” respectively
  • EDN is the weakest source on the AppleTrack leaderboard, and has been sine the site’s inception in May 2020

Our take: Sure, the 2021 iPhones could be called iPhone 13. But for that to be the case, the following had to be true: 1) a weak supply chain source has months-early access to highly protected marketing information 2) Apple will break the naming tradition they’ve followed for the past 5+ years and 3) the upgrades would have to be much more significant than we’re hearing about now. So yeah, I’m skeptical.

Apple Car may debut in September 2021

The rumor: Apple’s top-secret, highly-anticipated car project is just under a year away from being announced, according to Economic Daily News (EDN, 36.8% accurate).

  • The report says that Apple Car production will be ramping up in the second quarter of 2021, with Apple planning an unveil in September
  • Early rumors suggest the car will be all-electric and including self-driving capabilities
  • Other analysts have suggested that a 2023-2025 timeline for Apple Car is far more realistic

Our take: EDN is the lowest-rated source that we track on our leaderboard. They’re consistently more wrong than right, and with no other source with any slight of credibility suggesting the same 2021 release date…this feels so wrong. Maybe they’re referring to some major update to CarPlay, or something else car-related?

Second report echoes 2022 launch for iPhone Fold

The rumor: Following a similar report last week, Apple’s foldable iPhone is set to debut in less than 2 years, according to Economic Daily News (36.8% accurate).

  • Samples of iPhone Fold have reportedly been sent to Foxconn
    • The hinge must sustain more than 100,000 folds in testing, compared to 20-50,000 for laptops
  • A foldable iPhone could launch as soon as September 2022

Our take: 2 reports are now suggesting a late 2022 launch for iPhone Fold, but it’s still extremely early on for rumors. Seems like a realistic timeline, though.

Apple October 2020 event leaderboard update

This is our biggest leaderboard update yet. While other products see rumors intermittently throughout the year, Apple’s biggest product, the iPhone, is relentlessly leaked week-by-week until the eventual Fall unveil. Following the October 13 event, here’s how iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and HomePod mini rearranged the source leaderboard.

Sources that increased

🏀 Mark Gurman: 87.8 ⮕ 88.3% accurate

  • +30 correct rumors
  • -2 incorrect claims

🧻 Jon Prosser: 74.5 ⮕ 85.2% accurate

  • +69 correct rumors
  • -6 incorrect claims

👨‍💻 Ming-Chi Kuo: 74.6 ⮕ 77.5% accurate

  • +19 correct rumors
  • -1 incorrect claims

🗞 WSJ: 76.7 ⮕ 77.4% accurate

  • +1 correct rumor

❓ MacRumors: 69 ⮕ 70% accurate

  • +1 correct rumor

🧭 Macotakara: 66.7 ⮕ 69.6% accurate

  • +16 correct rumors
  • -5 incorrect claims

🍍 Max Weinbach: 63 ⮕ 67.1% accurate

  • +23 correct rumors
  • -8 incorrect claims

🔢 DigiTimes: 61.3 ⮕ 65% accurate

  • +14 correct rumors
  • -4 incorrect claims

🦅 Barclays: 57.9 ⮕ 64.5% accurate

  • +9 correct rumors
  • -3 incorrect claims

✅ The Verifier: 51.3 ⮕ 51.9% accurate

  • +1 correct rumor

💵 Economic Daily News: 36.1 ⮕ 36.8% accurate

  • +1 correct rumor
  • -1 incorrect claim

Source(s) that stayed the same

🧧 Kang 康总: 97.8 ⮕ 97.8% accurate

  • +84 correct rumors
  • -2 incorrect claims

Sources that decreased

🌙 L0vetodream: 88.9 ⮕ 87.9% accurate

  • +32 correct rumors
  • – 5 incorrect claims

Note: As you may have noticed, no source is 100% accurate. That’s because all sources get some info right and some info wrong: do not harass anyone for their track record. The leaderboard functionality on AppleTrack is here only to help Apple enthusiasts better understand how likely a rumor really is.

As always, if you notice a discrepancy on someone’s record, let us know.