As manufacturers gear up for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch, the rumour mill has started talking about the next-generation “lower cost” iPhone: They say Apple, may dump the colourful polycarbonate shell in favour of a unibody metal casing.
The alleged iPhone 6C would retain the 4-inch display, but would move to an “Apple-style” casing, according to Jefferies analyst Ange Wu, who shared this info in a note to investors shared by Barrons today. Of course, the main assembly partner remains Foxconn, which is also said to have grabbed some of the casing orders.
In the first half next year, Apple plans to launch the iPhone 6C, an extended version of the iPhone 5S with a 4? Retina display and a unibody metal casing.
Interestingly, the new “lower cost” iPhone won’t launch until the first half of 2016, so there is plenty of time for Apple to change its mind. The real question is whether it would want to release such device: Since its launch alongside the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 5c hasn’t changed, except Apple discontinued the 16 GB and 32 GB versions and kept the 8 GB model.
The “unapologetically plastic” iPhone wasn’t much of a success: Its high-end model, the iPhone 5s, outsold it 3 to 1, and, if you recall, the iPhone 6 models have topped China’s smartphone sales since launch, pushing the average sale price of smartphones up to $263. And that has happened in a country where the majority of smartphone OEMs compete against each other on price.
Fact is, Apple will launch the next-generation iPhones sometime in the fall and some expect the iPhone 6C to arrive, but there is much debate about whether Apple will refresh this line or not.
