Rumours of Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup to include three other fashions have been swirling for months and now a top-rated analyst says that there is a chance that the Cupertino giant is planning to launch a $699 model to substitute the iPhone 8.
Earlier reports suggested that Apple will launch three new iPhones in 2018, consisting of 5.8-inch OLED screen to serve as a successor to the iPhone X, a giant 6.5-inch OLED screen model that would be the largest display ever seen on an iPhone and a 6.1-inch LCD model at an affordable price. Comparatively, the current iPhone X features a 5.8-inch display and the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch display.
Known KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that this affordable iPhone might be launched at a starting price of $699 (approximately Rs 44,600) in order to substitute the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and it will apparently resemble the iPhone X with a similar full-screen design at a low price.
On the other hand, the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will have less premium components such as aluminium frame instead of stainless steel. Features like the dual-camera system and 3D Touch could also be dropped.
Additionally, despite this, Kuo believes that this phone will be Apple’s most successful iPhone this year and estimated sales around 100 million units. Comparatively, Kuo predicted that the latest model of Apple — iPhone X might reach total sales of 62 million units before being pulled back. Furthermore, the company will cease production of iPhone X in the summer, as per Kuo.
While Apple is indeed taking a look at cost-cutting measures, the cheaper 6.1 LCD iPhone will still feature Face ID and will make around 50 per cent of all shipments of the 2018 iPhone line-up.
