The Anatomy Of An Apple Rumor [Infographic]

I don’t think I have to tell anyone about the continuous viral reporting of what Apple is working on and what we can expect in the future, even though it’s all just speculation and rumors. It’s kind of funny really. We spend a lot of time reading stuff that will probably never become reality. Apple is one of the companies in the world that people love to gossip about. Whether it is through images or speculation, it’s all just gossip that will remain just that until Apple has had one of their famous keynotes. We could go on and on about which Apple rumors are true or not, but until Apple has actually confirmed it, there is not much body to it. But how exactly does an Apple rumor come alive, and what is its life cycle?

Even though the iPhone 5 has just been recently announced, people are already starting to talk about Apple’s next move, the iPhone 6 and of course futuristic Apple products that will never be realized at all. We all want the unexpected, but we always shoot too high when it comes to expectations and speculation thus leaving us unimpressed once Apple’s announcement is over. We might ask ourselves whether an Apple rumor actually ruins the whole thing with rumors that will never come to life.

It’s easy to start dreaming up conspiracy theories when you start thinking about Apple rumors. When you start looking at the statistics, you quickly see that it benefits Apple greatly that there are Apple rumors circulating the web. Initial rumors of the iPhone 5 were reported on a staggering 125 premium news sites within 24 hours. These Apple rumors certainly help Apple sell millions and millions of products. So you have to ask yourself, is Apple in on it?

It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that Apple is trickling out small specks or “leaks” in order to build up the expectations and awareness about their upcoming products. They keep saying they are not, but when you look at the result stemming from an Apple rumor, it is not too hard to imagine that they are actually in on it.

Apple rumors of course also benefit websites as well if they are among the first to report them. So when you look at those statistics, you could think that people behind these news sites and blogs actually came up with the Apple rumors themselves in order to attract visitors to their site. Another long shot? I would think not, and we have seen proof of that earlier with lesser professional executions of renders, diagrams and photos. It’s all a hype circus meant to boost more awareness about Apple’s upcoming products and drive traffic and sales.

An infographic from PCmag takes a stab at deciphering the anatomy of an Apple rumor, and it’s mighty interesting. This infographic is called exactly what I wrote in my earlier sentence, Anatomy Of An Apple Rumor. It is a speculative look at just how an Apple rumor comes to life and travels across the web only to be killed off by another rumor. The cycle is complete, and if I would dare to speculate, it’s exactly how Apple would want it.