iPhone 6 Concept Image by Dani Yako
iPhone 6 Concept Image by Dani Yako Dani Yako via Concept-Phones

The iPhone 6 release date this 2014 is seen as a game-changer, a giant storm, in fact, that could again redefine the global smartphone market before the year ends.

A report by DigiTimes this week indicated that roles are juggling as the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony and HTC continue to weaken in the face of aggressive challenges mounted by China-based vendors. Brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo have been steadily gaining traction that they are now regarded as three of the five biggest smartphone makers in the world.

Sony and LG crashed out of the elite circle of Big Five in the market while Samsung and HTC managed to hang on, rather precariously as DigiTimes noted that all these players are anticipating a weaker environment in the remaining months of 2014.

Not that the consumers' shopping habits will be reshaped in a big way because Morgan Stanley has recently forecasted that by the end of December 2014, one smartphone will have shipped out some 80 million units and most of these will end up getting activated.

The investment firm points to the iPhone 6 as Apple's tool in re-unleashing its juggernaut self this year and together with the iPhone 5S and 5C, which according to analysts will be repackaged as the company's budget-friendly handset, Apple is in for a massive haul, likely clearing more than 100 million units in the last three months of the year.

Apple's incredible prospects are not without bases, according to Tero Kuittinen of BGR. The latest data points to an eroding position by two of the most solid Android rivals by Apple - Samsung and HTC. The two flagships by the firms - the Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 - failed to impress in terms of sales.

In contrast, Apple's iPhone 5S bannered the company's 42.1 per cent market share in the United States, which represents an increase from the 41.4 per cent posted in the previous market. What really is astonishing about the result, Kuittinen noted, is the GS5 and the One M8 were outpaced by a device that was released in late 2013.

So it could be a grimmer scenario for these Android players in the immediate aftermath of the iPhone 6 rollout that likely will happen in the next few weeks considering that Apple is rumoured to unpack two devices - a 4.7-inch model and the highly-anticipated 5.5-inch iPhone 6 phablet.

"Apple is invading Samsung's turf directly, with one of the new phones expected to boast a 5.5 inch screen," BGR said on its report.

And as if to highlight Apple's almost certain blockbuster way of closing out the year, "the market is waiting for the debut of the speculated large-size iPhone," DigiTimes said, pointing as usual to its unnamed industry sources.

Of course, these projections will only get confirmation in the immediate months after the iPhone 6 release date that numerous reports said will take place either in late September or early October 2014 or days after the device's intro on September 9.