It's not too late to hope for an 'iPhone 6c,' analyst claims
Trying to analyze and guess what Apple will do next is a popular game, and few people play it as well as KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo has a very reliable track record, often predicting Apple’s next moves quite accurately. According to recent reports from 9to5Mac, Kuo claims in an investment note that Apple is still developing a refreshed 4-inch model of the iPhone along with the rumored “iPhone 7.”
Kuo indicates that the 4-inch iPhone, perhaps called the “iPhone 6c,” will ship without 3D Touch support in an effort on Apple’s part to clearly separate it from the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus family of handsets. The device “resembles an upgraded iPhone 5s” and features an A9 processor. Kuo hints that the iPhone 6c will be protected by a metal casing, not the plastic design used for the iPhone 5c. According to Kuo, the market is still ripe for a 4-inch iPhone, and Apple will launch the device in the first half of 2016. He believes Cupertino will ship between 20 and 30 million units of the so-called iPhone 6c by the end of the year.
Kuo also discusses the iPhone 7 in his latest investment note. The analyst says Apple will maintain its usual third-quarter announcement and release of the device, utilizing the A10 chip in both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch variants of the handset. The two devices will differ in the amount of RAM, however, with the 4.7-inch model featuring 2 GB of RAM. The 5.5-inch “iPhone 7 Plus,” on the other hand, will have 3 GB of RAM.
It’s far too early to say for certain whether these predictions will prove true, but Kuo does seem to have excellent sources within either Apple itself or the supply chain behind Cupertino’s products. Plans could always change for device announcements, though, so don’t get your hopes up just yet for the iPhone 6c.
