Almost always, the onset of a new school year comes with renewed promises from Apple,Inc. as they release their next generation of smartphones, with the ever popular iPhone. This year, rumors surrounding the release of the new iPhone ran rampant on the internet, as fans and consumers of Apple products speculated on a range of topics, from the screen size to the release date of the next iPhone model. A March 2014 survey of 4,101 consumers, conducted by ChangeWave Research, revealed that the release of the next generation of iPhones is gearing up to become the most anticipated Apple smartphone release yet.

Perhaps this is because of the more dramatic shift in screen sizes; the iPhone 6, speculated to be released in early to mid-September, is theorized to have a screen size (diagonal measure) of 4.7 inches. The 5.5 inch model, dubbed the “iPhone Air” by the Apple consumer community, is speculated to be released in December. These new screen sizes largely dwarf previous models of the popular smartphone. The iPhone 4S and earlier models had a 3.5 inch screen; the more recent iPhones 5, 5s, and 5c all boasted a screen size of four inches diagonally across.

While the iPhone 5 enlargement of its screen marked the beginning of Apple’s added focus on external innovations on its smartphones, in addition to software upheavals; but the increase of a half-inch in screen size from its previous model was still not enough to compete with the screen size of some Android phones, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which has a screen size of an astonishing 5.7 inches. Thus, the market’s upward trend in preferring larger phones was probably a major factor for Apple inc.’s development team to propose an even larger increase in screen sizes.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone Air’s bigger screen allows for a “flattening” effect to take place; as the screen size increases, the need for the internal structure to compacted within the restraints of the screen is more relaxed, and therefore the smartphone does not need to be as thick.  In fact, it is speculated that the iPhone 6’s thickness will be closer to the thickness to the iPod touch’s thickness, at 6.1 mm, as opposed to iPhone 5c’s current thickness at 7.6 mm.

What does this mean for high school students? Along with a larger screen, students can expect to harbor less cracks on their iPhones, as a result of the rumored use of sapphire glass; this glass is currently used for protecting only the camera and the home button. Additionally, desires for an improved battery life may be quenched, asthe new battery is reported to have a larger capacity than that of the iPhone 5s,an increase in fifteen percent battery life.

Also, an increase in processing power is to be expected — the new A8 processing chip is rumored to be nearly twice as fast as the A7 processor in the iPhone 5s. The iPhone 6 is also rumored to support up to 128 GB of storage. This means that for students, less “storage is almost full” notifications will be seen to accommodate for a large amount of apps, photos, and music that an individual student may use on regular basis.

Many fans have coined the term “phablet” to describe the new trend in bigger and better phones, playing homage to a crossover between a smartphone and tablet. And with Apple Inc.’s previous release of the iPad mini, as well as the speculative release of the next generation of iPhone, fans have to ask — when will the limit be reached? When will phones get so big, and tablets so small, that they are indistinguishable from each other?

Overall, there is much anticipation in the next couple of weeks for the release of the next production cycle for the iPhone. It may be too soon to tell, but this release will perhaps pave the road for the highest demand for iPhones in several years.