It was right after Steves death. He probably said no to make multiple versions and right after he died Apple exclusives were free to do it and tried to introduce us to the Samsungfication of Apple. They thought more iPhones more sales. Luckily it doesn’t work otherwise we would had the iPhone A 5GS and the iPhone M35 J.
Whilst the c was a big misstep, I do think it’s right that the iPhone now has multiple product lines, as the customer base is so large.
It’s the iPhone before and after the regular iPhone that always seems to be problematic.
Looking at android phones, even low to mid range phones tend to have ‘pro max’ sized screens.
I’d expect the regular iPhone to soon creep up to 6.5 & the air is the first sign of where the regular iPhone will kinda sorta head to (probably not quite as thin and with more cameras & speakers).
The e phone I’d expect to increasingly resemble the regular iPhone and turn into Apple’s ‘compact’ phone (if 6.1-3 inch screens can be considered small, which in today’s overall smartphone market, they can).
The pro phones seem to be perfectly specced and designed for market need (ok the new pro 17 body design is an acquired taste).
And if rumours are to be believed, if the pro max isn’t big - or expensive - enough for you, the fold is coming.