Next week, Samsung, Motorola, and Apple are all dropping new products.
Here’s how to actually use tech rumors to make better purchasing decisions.
The latter category is more for enthusiasts, but there issomevaluable info consumers can garner.
But if you could find out when the next Motorola phone is coming out, that’s useful.
This is largely because these two are rarely confirmed very early on.
Even if they are, they can change or get pushed back before release.
Several years ago, this would be the launch stage for a new iPhone.
This year, Apple has an event coming up onSeptember 9th.
Apple tends to have fairly predictable release frames for all of its products, too, not just iPhones.
It’s also the hardest to predict.
Because Google isn’t a hardware manufacturer, it doesn’t always release a new phone.
However, it does tend to lead the Android ecosystem with new devices.
In August of 2013, the company announced the Moto X.
This year, it seems to be following up that trend withan announcement on September 4th.
Some of these events will announce hardware that is available immediately or at least very soon afterwards.
Others may wait a few months.
Cataloging the release schedules for every product category could be a whole article unto itself.
Often you’re able to find a pattern.
How to Estimate Pricing
Guessing the pricing on gadgets is a little harder to predict.
Most gadgets come with a single sticker price and that’s it.
Some models like the Nexus line can be in the $350-450 range at full cost.
Tablets - $200-500:Tablets tend to have prices that are tied closely to their size.
7" Android tablets are usually around $200-300 for the base model.
The iPad mini starts at $400, which is around where larger Android tablets start their price points.
Kindle devices tend to be cheaper on average, though they’re also more limited in capability.
The Pebble watchbegins at $150, though the luxury model moves up to $250.
LG’s G Watch and Samsung’s Gear Live live in the $200-250 range.
Some products are made to be high-end and thus come with a higher price tag.
However, there are certain margins that product categories have to operate in.
If it’s too high, no one will buy it.
Also remember that pricing is almost never guaranteed until an official announcement is made.
Moreover, devices are never more expensive than when they first come out.
If you’re looking to save as much money as possible, don’t even bother with rumors.
You’ll have official confirmation long before you’re ready to buy.
For everything else, there’s rumors and leaks.
Most respectable sites online have source and via links (much like Lifehacker does).
If the “source” link for one article still lists its own “source,” keep going.
If you’re looking at images, watermarks can also help you find the original location of a leak.
A news outlet digs up information via obscure means like FCC documents, or poking around in source code.
A reporter gets a lucky break and finds unreleased information or hardware in a placelike a bar.
This typically happens when someone who has early access to a gear or prototype sneaks a picture.
Retail documents:Retail leaks happen when information filters down to the people who actually sell products.
This includes the hourly employees with little real motivation to keep trade secrets or the people updating website entries.
Leaked software:Unlike hardware, software can be leaked pretty easily.
FCC documents:Before electronics devices make it to consumers, they have to go through the FCC.
Usually, FCC documentation is kept under wraps, but occasionallysomething slips out.
Because, you know, they have to make the gadget first before they write the manual for it.
There are tons of ways to leak information and this list certainly isn’t comprehensive.
This is in stark contrast to the types of “leaks” that are much less reliable.
Companies file patents for anything they think they might be able to use.
Most often, you see news stories for wild, crazy ideas that companies patent.
However, these rarely make it to market.
Remember, companies don’t file patents for whole, specific devices.
You’ll want to look to the FCC for boring documents about a specific phone.
As an example,this rumorfrom Digitimes stated that Apple requested fewer 9.7" iPad displays.
The extrapolation is that sales would plummet by 90%.
The reality is that sales that quarter wereway up.
Sometimes this is valid, if the outlet has a good track record of vetting its sources.
Other times, it can be a way of disguising a complete lack of evidence.
Wait for extra evidence for this one.
None of this is to say that there is information that’s always right or always wrong.
Sometimes analysts get it correct and sometimes a leaked Best Buy ad is way off.
There’s no guarantee.
As a consumer, you’re able to still keep an eye out for already-corroborated stories, though.
Even if it was written by a competitor.
This gets easier to find as announcements and release dates draw near.
Back in the days of yore, Google was planning a phone called the “Nexus One”.
Obviously, these were pretty ridiculous rumors.
Actual revolutions are rare.
Rumors of revolutions are common.
That won’t stop people from going out of their way to fake some sensational new information.
In 2012, a particularly high-profile hoax made its way around the rumor world concerning a Sony Nexus.
The trouble is, it wascompletely false.
Just to see how far it would go.
The hoaxster didn’t even submit it to any news outlet.
They just uploaded it to Flickr and waited.
The internettook it from there.
For this reason, even some of the most convincing tech rumors can be complete fabrications.
Which, of course, leads to the final step.
That’s perfectly natural.
However, it’s important to not get ahead of yourself.
Treat rumors like what they are: mostly entertainment that sometimes land on the side of truth.
Even seasoned veterans can make incorrect guesses.
It can (and is) a full-time job to sift through everything that comes through the news feed.
It’s okay to wait until something is confirmed.
Photo byTambako the Jaguar.
