Apple has reportedly set the next iPhone release date as early as February 2016 but not for the iPhone 7. The touchdown will involve a 4-inch iOS smartphone that will be known as the iPhone 6C or 7C will retail for no more than $500.
Minch-chi Kuo of KGI Securities has earlier predicted that the iPhone maker is definitely on track to retire the iPhone 5S, issued in 2014, and in its place the 6C will be released. However, a new BGR report is saying that the smaller handset will be labelled as the iPhone 7C in keeping with the regular iPhone 7 flagship rollout that is expected for next year.
Still, the 6C or 7C will appear ahead of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and will likely feature a preview of the handset changes planned by Apple for 2016. Among the most talked about iPhone 7 rumored features are the ditching of the Home button and the audio jack that could further slim down the next iPhone. If this prove correct, the 6C/7C will likely become not only the smaller iPhone in circulation but also the first to show off the trimmed down iPhone profile.
Kuo also reported that the smallest of the new iPhones will boast of a metal back plate that is melded with the high-end front glass panel and will be powered by the A9 processing chip. The upscale build and premium specs inside and out of the device will justify the rather pricy tag of $500, the Apple-focused analyst said.
But other Apple observers are not so upbeat on the market prospect of the rumored 4-inch iPhone, which will have to compete with cheaper Android smartphones that sport the same screen profile. The smaller iPhone is more likely to gain traction if the pricing will draw in price-sensitive buyers, which will not be the casa with the $500 sticker price, PC Mag reported.
Picking between a $200 Android phone with a 5-inch display and the expensive 4-inch iPhone 6C/7C, the choice will be easy for most buyers, the publication said, citing the latest report from research firm Kantar.
And Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray is in agreement, saying in a report that an expensive iPhone variant will smaller screen and scaled down features will prove a hard sell for majority of Apple fans that market-conditioned for the supersized iPhones. Munster added that even the iPhone 5S and older models holdovers will easily be swayed by the 4.7-inch iPhone 6S once they take the device for a spin.
"When they upgrade to a 4.7-inch screen with an only slightly bigger footprint in the pocket, we expect those users would be converts to the larger screen size," the analyst told Apple Insider.
Munster is convinced too that the iPhone 6C or 7C release date will not happen in early 2016 as Apple is more likely to opt for a simultaneous rollout with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which is not expected until the third quarter of next year.