A few months after the iPhone 6S release date this 2015, Apple will reportedly unpack the rumored 4-inch iPhone 6C that will eventually bump off the iPhone 5S and 5C, a new report said. But unlike its small iPhone predecessors, the 6C is clad in metal.
The latest 4-inch iPhone model is not exactly a budget handset pictured in previous report, basing on the latest readings provided by market research firm Jefferies. Essentially, "the iPhone 6C is designed as an extended version (of the iPhone 5S)," Jefferies told Business Insider.
While the 6C will mostly reflect the basic specs and features found on the 5S and 5C, there will considerable bumps in line with the new offerings that Apple will packed with the upcoming iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. It is unclear if the 6C main engine will be the same as that of that 6S and 6S Plus, which according to supply chain leaks is the A9 application processor.
But the package will surely bear the familiar Apple imprints - premium design, solid build and tight integration of the hardware and software specifications, the Jefferies report noted.
Also, the research firm is predicting that the 6C will deviate from the 5C template and will boast mostly of the high-end features that the iPhone 5S had delivered back in 2013. Foremost of these features is an extra-strong metal housing.
"Apple continues to develop increased hardness for the iPhone metal casing, which requires a more complicated CNC and anodized process," the Jefferies report was quoted by Business Insider as saying.
Jefferies, however, stopped short of providing more specific details of the iPhone 6C as the Business Insider report noted that the research firm largely sourced its information from supply chain sources in Asia and not from official Apple channels. This could mean that the details published may not make the final cut of the iPhone 6C.
But it is interesting to take note that the Jefferies report is in line with the recent forecast aired by KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo - that the iPhone 6C will not launch with the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus on September 2015. Like Jefferies, Kuo is under the impression that the 4-inch iPhone will only get a refresh in the early months of 2016.
And like the Jefferies report, Kuo held back in discussing the specs and features that are packed with the 6C.
There are speculations, however, that the iPhone 6C on release date will complete the implementation of Apple Pay on all iPhone models as the service is not compatible with the 4-inch iPhone 5S. Once unboxed, the 6C is expected to run on iOS 9.