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In terms of design I imagine the new 4' iPhone to be an upgraded 5s with with an A8 or A9 chip, overall improved specifications and a look that comes in different colors (like the 5c). I just can't understand where the "2.5D curved edge cover glass like the glass used on the iPhone 6 and later" fits in this device.
that makes sense couple of years back. now decent andriod phones cost around $200 and good enough phones are $400.

It is apple turn to turn on the heat.
 
that makes sense couple of years back. now decent andriod phones cost around $200 and good enough phones are $400.

It is apple turn to turn on the heat.
My point was on the design of the device. This is what I'm trying to imagine. Not on its cost.
 
My point was on the design of the device. This is what I'm trying to imagine. Not on its cost.
I see, generally apple does not bring back the old design.

I think it will resemble more of iPhone 6/6S design than iPhone 5S.

Even iPhone 5S starts at $449 - I think they will do away with Plastic phone (like iPhone 5C).

we should take the hands me down method from iPad(s) worst case, but I hope they put A9 in there (instead of A8) 4" iPhone 6S mini.
 
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They will NOT remove the 6 from the lineup until after the 7S appears. The 6 is a critical step in Apple gaining the remaining lower end of the Android spectrum who might switch the iOS if they could get the same size phone for the same price.

The 4" will be based on the 6S and initially priced at the bottom of the 6S/Plus range, then will be priced between the 6S & 6S Plus when the 7 is released. That gives Apple a family of phones to depreciate each year, just like they do with the iPad and MacBook, and desktop Macs -- assuming the sales data supports the continued manufacture of a 4" phone.
Could you expand on what you think the line-up will look like in October 2016?
7+ $750
7 $650
6s+ $650
6s $550
6s- $600
?
 
Could you expand on what you think the line-up will look like in October 2016?
7+ $750
7 $650
6s+ $650
6s $550
6s- $600
?

Yes, that's the idea. And I base that on the "6s-" being slightly more advanced than the 6s to step it up closer to the 7 to take advantage of some new tech, without giving away any clues as to what the 7 will include.

I doubt it will have 3D Touch at this juncture (mainly due to space), but it very well may have everything else the 6S has, including a 12mp camera. Maybe a better battery, a processor spec bump, improved radios, etc. These tech upgrades won't influence 6S customers who want the larger format, though it might make them more eager to upgrade to a 7.

And again, I suggest this because I feel that Apple needs to position this phone as flagship-adjacent phone to get the premium dollar from those who can afford to pay it. Otherwise, the customers who can afford more but want a 4" phone are going to cost Apple revenue. Meanwhile budget customers are going to be willing to pay more to upgrade their iPhones and keep the 4" size, so why not charge as much as possible, without discouraging an upgrade? I mean, This phone isn't designed to replace the 6S like the 5c was to replace the 5, as a budget phone -- at least it shouldn't, because Apple is just leaving money on the table. And I can't see Apple designing a brand new phone as an entry-level product, so that rules that out. Nor can it be a premium phone if it's going to be released mid-cycle, and mostly surpassed 6 months later.

What if Apple simply calls the new 4" phone the "iPhone mini", that way when the 7 comes out, there's no number identifying it as old tech and allows them to sell it outside the usual expected pricing bubble?
 
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Almost "everyone" has upgraded to 6 and 6S so carrying the 5S is almost a bit special these days.
As of the date the iPhone 6S became available, 30% of iPhone owners had "upgraded" to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and 70% were still using an iPhone 5S or earlier iPhone. With one calendar quarter of additional iPhone 5S, 6, and 6S sales, probably at least 60% of the install base are still using an iPhone 5S or earlier iPhone. I still see people using the iPhone 4 and 4S from time to time. It's very rare now for me to see an iPhone older than the iPhone 4.
 
Yes, that's the idea. And I base that on the "6s-" being slightly more advanced than the 6s to step it up closer to the 7 to take advantage of some new tech, without giving away any clues as to what the 7 will include.
I'm sorry, but the iPhone 6C (or whatever the new 4" iPhone will be called) will in the very best case have the same features as the iPhone 6S. There is zero chance it would have features from the iPhone 7 that the iPhone 6S does not have. I would be delighted if the iPhone 6C would have features beyond those of the iPhone 6S, but it won't happen.
 
Yes, that's the idea. And I base that on the "6s-" being slightly more advanced than the 6s to step it up closer to the 7 to take advantage of some new tech, without giving away any clues as to what the 7 will include.

I doubt it will have 3D Touch at this juncture, but it very well may have everything else the 6S has, including a 12mp camera. Maybe a better battery, a processor spec bump, improved radios, etc. This won't affect 6S customers who want the larger format, though it might make them more eager to upgrade to a 7.

And again, I suggest this because I feel that Apple needs to position this phone as flagship-adjacent phone to get the premium dollar from those who can afford to pay it. Otherwise, the customers who can afford more but want a 4" phone are going to cost Apple revenue. Meanwhile budget customers are going to be willing to pay more to upgrade their iPhones and keep the 4" size, so why not charge as much as possible, without discouraging an upgrade? I mean, This phone isn't designed to replace the 6S like the 5c was to replace the 5, as a budget phone -- at least it shouldn't, because Apple is just leaving money on the table. And I can't see Apple designing a brand new phone as an entry-level product, so that rules that out. Nor can it be a premium phone if it's going to be released mid-cycle, and mostly outdated 6 months later.
I understand your thinking but I don't think that Apple will release (a) a 'half-generation' phone nor (b) a phone that outspecs their current flagship (6s and 6s+, though the more important yardstick is the 6s which is their largest seller). I simply cannot see them introducing an A9.5 chip. A one-yearly schedule is already a big effort. They can vary RAM and clock speed (but then a smaller device would rather get less of those because it has a smaller screen and less battery). Ditto for the camera, where again a smaller phone is unlikely to get a bigger camera.

If they want to have a 4" iPhone that is on par with its larger co-models, introducing it together with the larger ones is simpler and better solution. I think simply updating some models half a year later is a better solution if they don't want to introduce all together. I know, we are all not enthralled by the iPad mini being (sometimes) a year or two behind (same for the iPod touch). But updating devices with a half year delay might be reasonable compromise (who knows what happens with the iPad air).

What if Apple simply calls the new 4" phone the "iPhone mini", that way when the 7 comes out, there's no number identifying it as old tech and allows them to sell it outside the usual expected pricing bubble?
That is a good idea, thought the iPhone 5c name also let it swim somewhere between the iPhone 5 and 5s in terms of name association.
 
I'm sorry, but the iPhone 6C (or whatever the new 4" iPhone will be called) will in the very best case have the same features as the iPhone 6S. There is zero chance it would have features from the iPhone 7 that the iPhone 6S does not have. I would be delighted if the iPhone 6C would have features beyond those of the iPhone 6S, but it won't happen.

I'm suggesting what I think Apple should do.

That said, the 5c did upgrade some components over the 5, which the 5S also had. So there is precedent, and at that point, Apple only offered one size phone, and wasn't trying to attract customers who preferred a different size model.
 
As long as it has decent speed, a decent camera and Touch ID, I'll go this direction from my current iPhone 6.
 
Brilliant (except for the fact that it took them this long). There is a large segment of the market that likes their 4' phone. Not to mention maybe they just believed Apple when Apple said bigger than 4' was just too big. This will be a huge seller with minimal development costs.

There isn't a large market segment for this. Recent sales records prove that pent up demand was for larger phones. Plus, these are computers now that call people. Not phones anymore. Step into the world of mobile computing.
 
Could you expand on what you think the line-up will look like in October 2016?
7+ $750
7 $650
6s+ $650
6s $550
6s- $600
?

I really hope there is a 7 mini. At this point, ill wait for 6s mini and then see what the 7 update brings. If no 7 mini then a buy of 6s mini for me, as long as its a9
 
What's up with all the girly men on this thread?!!!. 6s plus or go home!. Just kidding, whatever floats your boat!
 
There isn't a large market segment for this. Recent sales records prove that pent up demand was for larger phones.
There was pent-up demand for larger iPhones because Apple had never before sold phablets. The demand for phone-sized iPhones was largely satisfied 15 months ago. That does not mean that there was, is, or will be more demand for phablet-sized iPhones than for phone-sized iPhones. Apple have to date sold approximately twice as many 3.5" and 4" iPhones as they have 4.7" and 5.5" iPhones, so the evidence to date suggests that there is more demand (total of satisfied and pent-up) for phone-sized iPhones than for phablet-sized iPhones. The fact that 75-80% of the iPhones sold in the just-end fiscal year were phablet-sized might be an indication that a majority of consumers prefer phablet-sized iPhones to phone-sized iPhones or it might be just because the only phone-sized iPhone for sale was an 8GB older model or it might be because the majority who prefer phone-sized iPhones already had bought recently. No one, not at Apple and especially not in this forum, knows the extent to which these different possible explanations account for the sales distribution over the last year. The one thing that is clear is that is demand for dozens of millions of iPhones in the 4", 4.7", and 5.5" sizes. There is no reason in the world why Apple should not produce all three sizes.
 
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For another $200 price increase; Apple could have offer a flagship phone! This is completely dumb idea of downgrade the 6C to a 1 year old technology(6S) component going on to 2 year old technology (6)phone components with 3 year old technology(5S) - camera, Wi-Fi, screen resolution for a $200 decrease. It a mixture of all 3 of them in the 6C. The only 6S component inside will be the A9.

I am on the fence on this; since it a completely a "no bargain" price package iPhone; other then the iPhone size. April 2016 (6C) and September 2016 (7) with the next generation technology - so that would make it a 1-4 years old technology after the iPhone 7 is released! Hopefully, there will be 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM and the storage will start at 16GB for this price at least! If not; it a sucker's buy! Apple got to give you one or two items in the phone to be of value!

In summary; I am on the fence with this purchase since I love to have a more full feature modern 4" iPhone but realized it a crappy value price offer!
 
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4.5 months away and no parts leaks? How likely can that be?

My guess is that they just enlarge the thickness of the current iTouch iPod by 1/16" more and Apple has the spanking new iPhone 6C/iPhone Mini. All that would be required is to change to A9 and that add the 1/4" NFC component, cellular radios module; make the battery just slightly smaller and thicker to fit the additional components; and you have the 6C/Mini!
 
For another $200 price increase; Apple could have offer a flagship phone! This is completely dumb idea of downgrade the 6C to a 1 year old technology(6S) component going on to 2 year old technology (6)phone components with 3 year old technology(5S) - camera, Wi-Fi, screen resolution for a $200 decrease. It a mixture of all 3 of them in the 6C. The only 6S component inside will be the A9.

I am on the fence on this; since it a completely a "no bargain" price package iPhone; other then the iPhone size. April 2016 (6C) and September 2016 (7) with the next generation technology - so that would make it a 1-4 years old technology after the iPhone 7 is released! Hopefully, there will be 2GB of LPDDR4 RAM and the storage will start at 16GB for this price at least! If not; it a sucker's buy! Apple got to give you one or two items in the phone to be of value!

In summary; I am on the fence with this purchase since I love to have a more full feature modern 4" iPhone but realized it a crappy value price offer!

haha, we have that product 13" MacBook Pro with Super Drive and iPad mini 2 and so on and on ...
 
I'd switch from my iPhone 6 to this one in a heartbeat.

Of all previous iPhone form factors that I owned, iPhone 6 is the only one that frustrates me. Even after a year of daily usage it's still awkward to use with one hand on the go. I can feel it in my pocket when walking upstairs or sitting down to tie shoe laces. Makes me regret upgrading - Every - Single - Time - this happens. Ugh. 5S had perfect size for me.

you're welcome to send it my way for a discount price. 4.7" isn't big as a 5.5" to me.
 
Don't know why everyone who likes a smaller phone feels the need to act superior about their opinion. Must feel special to be in the minority and feel the need to justify their reasons but it shouldn't involve saying to everyone else why their larger iPhone 6s is a bad phone.
 
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