Production already underway for Apple's new 4-inch 'iPhone 6c' - report
Apple has reportedly begun mass production of its new 4-inch handset, with the device slated for release this spring in a bid to kickstart sales in important emerging markets.
Development of the so-called "iPhone 6c" was completed in early 2015, according to Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei. Apple is said to delayed the new device's introduction until a more opportune moment.
The paper believes Apple will target the new 4-inch model -- which some call the "iPhone 5se" -- at consumers in emerging markets like India, where the company's more expensive models face an uphill battle among relatively poor consumers.
As the smartphone market becomes saturated in most industrialized nations, developing countries represent critical markets for manufacturers. Among the fastest-growing smartphone brands of 2015, most concentrated their efforts on places like India, Thailand, and China.
Little is known yet about the new iPhone, with nearly every aspect -- including its industrial design -- the subject of contradictory speculation. Some believe it will take after the iPhone 5s, while others say it will be more like a miniature iPhone 6.
Internals could include either the A8 or A9 processors and their corresponding M-series motion chips, along with anywhere from 1 gigabyte to 2 gigabytes of RAM and the possible inclusion of Touch ID and NFC support for Apple Pay.
Development of the so-called "iPhone 6c" was completed in early 2015, according to Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei. Apple is said to delayed the new device's introduction until a more opportune moment.
The paper believes Apple will target the new 4-inch model -- which some call the "iPhone 5se" -- at consumers in emerging markets like India, where the company's more expensive models face an uphill battle among relatively poor consumers.
As the smartphone market becomes saturated in most industrialized nations, developing countries represent critical markets for manufacturers. Among the fastest-growing smartphone brands of 2015, most concentrated their efforts on places like India, Thailand, and China.
Little is known yet about the new iPhone, with nearly every aspect -- including its industrial design -- the subject of contradictory speculation. Some believe it will take after the iPhone 5s, while others say it will be more like a miniature iPhone 6.
Internals could include either the A8 or A9 processors and their corresponding M-series motion chips, along with anywhere from 1 gigabyte to 2 gigabytes of RAM and the possible inclusion of Touch ID and NFC support for Apple Pay.
Comments
This is more a device suited to developed markets for people who don't want an S6 sized phone.
Hope this is true. A March launch would be perfect.
I'm not convinced on "iPhone 5se" either, but it makes some kind of sense for a device that is based on an iPhone 5s.
Sure. But in China and India they still prefer a 4 inch iPhone rather than a generic android phablet... and then they get an excuse to upgrade to the larger sizes once they are hooked on the IOS platform (which some 95% are).
It is very clever to have more basic entry points, which gets people onboard - while still having them envy the more expensive models....
why does AI even qualify these people by releasing such stupid predictions?
The primary selling feature of the iPhone 5 was the new screen size
The primary selling feature of the iPhone 5s was TouchID
The primary selling feature of the iPhone 6 was the larger screen.
The primary selling feature(s) of the iPhone 6s was Force Touch and a stronger body material.
The new smaller iPhone, if it exists, is therefore much more a "5" than a "6" it seems to me. It certainly doesn't seem that it will have any of the features that were the primary selling points of the iPhone 6 or 6s. It will however have TouchID and the same screen dimensions and general size of the iPhone 5.
It's all speculation at this point anyway. It could turn out to have ForceTouch for example. That alone would justify the "6." Or all this could be diversion and neither name will be used. No one really knows and Apple has a history of doing wacky things.
It does also kind of make sense marketing-wise that it might be "iPhone 5se" because the target market is exactly those people out there with an iPhone 5 in their hands right now. Those are the people that Apple is hoping to push to upgrade with this device. I think the segment of the market that is going to downgrade from a 6 series phone to a smaller phone is probably very small. This is an upgrade for iPhone 5 users.
I disagree, (see my response to "tommy0guns"), but it's all speculation at this point. In any case, I'm not saying the name will be "iPhone 5se," just that on balance there are more reasons and more logical reasons for it to be that than there are for it to be called "iPhone 6c."
If it were up to me, I would probably go with "iPhone 6 mini" but there has been no indication that Apple has even considered this name. No leaks, no rumours etc. So, in the "debate" (if one can call it that) over which of the two leaked names is more likely, I still have to go with "iPhone 5se" if only because "iPhone 6c" is just so nonsensical.