Here's more evidence that Apple may release a new, cheap iPhone that's almost half the price of the iPhone 11, but just as fast
- Apple may be planning to release 2 new, cheap iPhones: one in a 4.7-inch size, and another in a 5.5-inch option.
- That's according to 9to5Mac, which claims to have obtained leaked code for unreleased iPhone software indicating that a cheaper 5.5-inch iPhone exists.
- Both phones are expected to run on the same processor as the iPhone 11 and are said to feature a Touch ID home button.
- It's yet another sign that cheaper iPhones are in Apple's pipeline, coming after reports from Bloomberg, Nikkei Asian Review, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have suggested that a more affordable iPhone is coming.
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For months, rumors about a cheaper iPhone designed to succeed the iPhone SE from 2016 have been swirling. Now, a new report from 9to5Mac not only reiterated this claim, providing further evidence that a $400 iPhone is coming, but also reportedly revealed that this phone will come in 2 sizes: a 4.7-inch model and a larger 5.5-inch model.
The outlet claims to have obtained leaked code for iOS 14, Apple's expected next-generation software for the iPhone, which indicates that a 5.5-inch iPhone is in the works. Both models will reportedly run on Apple's A13 Bionic chip, the same processor that powers the iPhone 11 lineup, suggesting it will offer similar performance as Apple's current flagships. Both new phones are said to come with a Touch ID-enabled home button as well.
Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment regarding the report.
It's far from being the first time rumblings of a less expensive iPhone have emerged. Reports from Bloomberg and Nikkei Asian Review, as well as research notes from well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, have all indicated that Apple has a more affordable iPhone in its pipeline. The phone is expected to be priced at $400, making it a little more than half the price of the $700 iPhone 11.
If these reports turn out to be true, it sounds like the iPhone would be positioned similarly as the iPhone SE. That phone, which was also priced at $400 and launched in 2016, offered some of the features of Apple's newest iPhone at the time - the iPhone 6S - but at a cheaper price in a more compact design. For example, it had a 12-megapixel camera that supported Live Photos and the same processor as the iPhone 6S, but with the design of the iPhone 5S.
The new low-cost iPhone, based on the reports we've seen so far, is shaping up to be the 2020 edition of that phone, which is to say it'll have the same design as one of Apple's older iPhones (the iPhone 8), but with the processing power of its newest devices. It's expected to be released in the first half of 2020, although it's unclear whether the ramifications of the coronavirus outbreak will have delayed Apple's production.
Such a device could broaden the iPhone's audience, giving Apple a way to target those in the window of an upgrade opportunity that don't want to spend much and may not need features like a borderless screen and facial recognition, but still want an iPhone that feels fast and new. It's essentially the same audience Apple is likely targeting with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which it launched in 2017 alongside the iPhone X, and still sells starting at $450.
