Apple, BlackBerry, and Google: The next round of gadget leaks has begun

It’s summer. Those two words can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In the gadget world, it means the leaks have begun.

New gadgets typically arrive in time for the back-to-school season, and definitely ahead of the holiday shopping bonanza. It may only be July, meaning gadget makers are still nowhere near ready to show off their work, but the Internet doesn’t care.

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In just this week alone, we’ve received multiple rumblings and early glimpses of what Apple, BlackBerry, and Google are up to. What better way to kick off a weekend than to see what the grandfather of smartphones and the two currently biggest mobile behemoths are up to?

Apple

On Tuesday, 9to5Mac provided an extensive look at what may be the iPhone 6S. The claim is that these are the first photos of the iPhone 6S’s external metal casing and its internals, courtesy of “a proven source familiar with Apple’s supply chain.”

The new iPhones are expected to include Force Touch and, according to the images, largely maintain the exterior design of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Expectations include same general sizes, a different internal mounting structure, and no dual-lens camera system.

9to5Mac followed up with LTE speed details on Wednesday and internal component details on Friday. Like the iPhone 5S, these updates are very much about changes and improvements on the inside.

BlackBerry

Last month, rumors that BlackBerry was building an Android smartphone returned in full force. As one who loves the hardware but hates the software, I have to say I’m excited.

Today, infamous leaker Evan Blass (evleaks) posted more details of BlackBerry’s Android phone, codenamed Venice, which is expected to feature a dual curved display (think Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge) with a physical keyboard that slides up from underneath (think Palm Pre). Apparently, it’s coming to AT&T in the U.S., and a high-resolution render indicates it will look something like this:

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.@akrnsv Not at all — Venice is actually quite the looker. pic.twitter.com/ToFgYNOuLw

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 3, 2015

You’ll notice that Blass’ image clearly shows Google apps, which would suggest Venice is getting a largely unmodified version of Android, unlike Amazon’s Fire OS, which is based on a fork of Google’s mobile operating system. The hardware is similar to the slider that BlackBerry showed off back at Mobile World Congress in March:

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What a Surprise! Ron just pulled out a dual-curved, all-touch display with a Keyboard – yes a slider device! #MWC15 pic.twitter.com/8VaPUZHo3j

— BlackBerry (@BlackBerry) March 3, 2015

But the above device is clearly running BlackBerry OS 10. A smartphone with BlackBerry hardware expertise and Google’s software skills, however, is a lot more intriguing.

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Google

On Thursday, Droid Life spotted an FCC filing that describes what is clearly a wearable, and may be the next Google Glass. We know the next version is coming soon, thanks to eyewear maker Luxottica, but that’s about it.

This device has the model name “GG1” (which may or may not stand for the first Google Glass), has Bluetooth LE, and rechargeable, non-removable batteries. It comes with an AC charger and a USB cable that can provide a “path for charging and data transfer.”

The e-label above does seem like it could be the size of a Google Glass screen. The GG1 could of course be something completely new, but right now the first broadly available Google Glass seems like a good bet.

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Oh, were you looking for smartphones? Rumor has it that Google will be releasing two new Nexus phones running Android M later this year, one from LG and a larger one from Huawei.

Final thoughts

This happens every year, and this week is just the beginning. Nowadays, it’s actually a shock when a device is announced without having leaked previously in some shape or form.

Expect more iPhone 6S, BlackBerry Venice, Google Glass, Nexus, and many more leaks in the weeks and months ahead. No device is safe.