Apple logo outside China Mobile store (Photo : Reuters)
It might be that Apple intends to intro a next-generation 4-inch handset, which rumors say will be called the iPhone 6C or 7C, on March 2016 but the actual release date of the device will not happen until a month after or April next year as a new report claims.
In a new blog report, MyDrivers said that the successor to the 4-inch iPhone 5S, currently Apple's budget phone, will have its commercial debut at the start of fourth quarter next year, at least in China's case. The same report pointed to the revealed roadmap by giant Chinese telco China Mobile, which indicated that the upcoming small iPhone will be offered to subscribers starting April 2016.
Earlier, China Mobile has also hinted that Samsung will begin the Galaxy S7 rollout March next year.
The latest development seems to align with an earlier report by Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac that Apple has scheduled a major event on March 2016 with the Apple Watch 2 likely the center of attraction. Yet through the same briefing, Gurman predicted too that the tech giant will finally make true of the persistent speculations that a new 4-inch iPhone will join its smartphone line up.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo has been stating in his recent notes that Apple indeed is bumping the iPhone 5S and in its stead, the iPhone 6C or 7C will be unboxed. As the debate rages on the actual label that the small iPhone will take, BGR said in a report that iPhone 6C appears the most solid bet.
It would be awkward of Apple to name the handset iPhone 7C as the headline model of the series has yet come out (that would be the rumored iPhone 7 that slated for revelation September 2016 at the earliest), the report added.
According to Kuo, Apple is looking to attract smartphone buyers with an iPhone 6C that is metal-clad with numerous color options. The device is said to be powered by A9 processing chip and the latest iOS 9 build on release date, the well-known Apple insider added.
