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Apple Appears to Have Ditched Plans for 4-Inch 'iPhone 6c' in 2015

driceman said:
Customers (screaming): iPhone screens are too small! You need to make a bigger phone!
Apple: -releases bigger phone-
Customers (still screaming): iPhone screens are too big! You should go back to the smaller size!
Apple: -releases iPod Touch with A8 chip and then decides customers are going to whine no matter what they do-

Love my iPhone 6 Plus! :D
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Apple could have easily fixed that by offering a 4, 4.7 and 5.5 inch iPhone 6, or even just putting the guts of the iPod Touch 6+ the network connections into a 5S.
 
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First, the C version was never a "cheap" iPhone it was a "cheaper" iPhone. Carrier subsidies make it seem closer to $0 than it really is.

Second, keeping the touch at 4" is either proof of a future 4" iPhone or Apple's general disregard for their developers. I believe it's the former. But releasing a 4" iPhone 6C in the spring of 2016 would make a LOT of sense. Avoid most of your cannibalization and get a sales bump in your slower (post-new model, post-Christmas) months.
 
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There is more money to be made by the people who will buy new, market trending products than people who want a product that has an old form factor and will "downgrade" once that one craps out.
 
I think that they should have a 4 inch phone. I went to the 6 thinking it was too big (and forget about the 6plus). I now have to admit that I like the screen size on the six, but my small hands still struggle at times. The good news is that they have a 4 inch option call the ipod touch. They just need to make FaceTime useful outside the apple ecosystem. If they can't figure this out (like google and everyone else already has) then they should create a 4 inch phone. This is not just about cost. the reality is that there is a market for 4 inch phones and apple has abandoned it prematurely IMO.
 
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I wish Apple released a 5-inch screen iPhone. I don't get why they opted for a 4.7 inch. They could have just done a 4-inch, 5 inch, and max 5.5 inch iPhones.
 
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BMcCoy said:
Surely if sales_revenue(6C + 6S/6S+) > sales revenue (6S/6S+) , then that is effective cannibalisation STRATEGY, and a win-win for both Apple and those customers looking to upgrade but keep a 4" screen.
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IMO, the real question should be, how many sales did/will Apple lose to other brands because they don't offer a 4" phone or an updated 4" phone. My guess is that it's a very small number.
 
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I don't understand why this is a mystery. New "S" phones at regular price, current 6 drops $100, 5s internals go into 5c for "free" phone. Entire lineup now has 64-bit processors and Touch ID.
 
I re-wrote this post like 5 times.

I don't know what to say.

just :(
 
It's a shame because those two concept models look really nice and it would be cool if they eventually made ones that look like those.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
IMO, the real question should be, how many sales did/will Apple lose to other brands because they don't offer a 4" phone or an updated 4" phone. My guess is that it's a very small number.
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Wait till people really start upgrading from the 5 and 5S. Thats when the demand for a 4 inch phone will go up.

Whatever the demand is, having a 4 inch phone would just make everyone happy and its honestly not hard. They updated the iPod Touch for less than one percent of its profits, a 4 inch phone would sell more than that.
 
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oldmacs said:
Wait till people really start upgrading from the 5 and 5S. Thats when the demand for a 4 inch phone will go up.

Whatever the demand is, having a 4 inch phone would just make everyone happy and its honestly not hard. They updated the iPod Touch for less than one percent of its profits, a 4 inch phone would sell more than that.
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But if the people who want a 4" phone buy the larger phone anyway, what difference does it make to Apple? It only makes sense if they lose sales to their competitors, IMO.
 
thekeyring said:
The fate of the 6 Plus is intriguing.

If history is anything to go on, the 5C gets discontinued, the 5S becomes "Free" and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus get price cuts.

Whether the iPhone 6 Plus will disappear completely is interesting. I'm leaning towards it staying.
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Well the 4 and 4S hung around as the cheap option in certain markets. I thought the point of the 5C was to create differentiation between the flagship and lower-priced model. If the new flagships look exactly like the current flagships but the latter gets a $100 price drop wouldn't that cannibalize sales of the new phones? Unless the new phones have some amazing new technology I could see many getting a discounted 6/6 Plus.
 
Danoc said:
Apple would have a terrific lineup with:
- iPhone mini 4" $599
- iPhone 4.7" $699
- iPhone plus 5.7" $799

Thus I don't think canibalization would affect the ASP.
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+1, you nailed it.

Let's face it, when September rolls around and the 6s/6s+ are announced the 5s and 5c are headed for the woodpile. So there is a huge gap to fill and it would seem to be called the 6c. While it *could* have either 5s or 6 internals (or a mix), and it *could* be either 4" or 4.7", it *will* have a cost reduced case in many colors and be ideal for students. And the old 4" metal body is gone for good and maybe they will come up with something clever for a colored body of a 6c - like a blend of the 5c case material with the 6 shape or it will just look like the new iTouch but sport cellular.

Also it would make sense if they had the 6c support Apple Pay, which is the #1 reason I think it will get an A8/iPhone 6 type of internals. Past down-models would suggest 16GB/32GB memory options.
 
Scottsoapbox said:
First, the C version was never a "cheap" iPhone it was a "cheaper" iPhone. Carrier subsidies make it seem closer to $0 than it really is.

Second, keeping the touch at 4" is either proof of a future 4" iPhone or Apple's general disregard for their developers. I believe it's the former. But releasing a 4" iPhone 6C in the spring of 2016 would make a LOT of sense. Avoid most of your cannibalization and get a sales bump in your slower (post-new model, post-Christmas) months.
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Hmm...this is an interesting idea. Nothing says iPhones can only be launched in September.
 
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GhostRaider said:
I wish Apple released a 5-inch screen iPhone. I don't get why they opted for a 4.7 inch. They could have just done a 4-inch, 5 inch, and max 5.5 inch iPhones.
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And Apple would ask you why are you hung up on 5"? If they didn't tell you the number, you probably wouldn't even notice or care. Besides, there were only 25 million 5" screens available in the world's supply and Apple needed 100 million. 4.7" it is!
 
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