KGI: Apple to Launch 6.5-Inch 'iPhone X Plus' and Lower-Priced 6.1-Inch Full-Screen LCD Model Next Year

[wozmatic]

Man... Apple is blowing it with the iPhones.

People will stop buying them if these are the only options and prices.

What advantage does 1cm more of screen at the bottom give you? They are trying to make a full screen face but the notch ruins it. Therefore, don't do it.

Just leave the home button and touch ID an option. Or people will change devices.

If a fugly design awards existed, this would win

 

[Glideslope]

Filed under "D" for "duh." Isn't this "common knowledge that a plus size X is coming next year? I think it is or I wouldn't know it.

So, your a Common Chupa Chupa?

 

[Casfin]

If all they offer is a 'notched lineup' I'll happily a) keep rocking my 6splus, or b)buy and 8 plus.

 

[tennisproha]

What a cluster****. They have the perfect opportunity to simplify and release just one 5.8" OLED model.

 

[Casfin]

Man... Apple is blowing it with the iPhones.

People will stop buying them if these are the only options.

What advantage does 1cm more of screen at the bottom give you?

Just leave the home button and touch ID.

The notch at the top is helping Apples case either, if they have a fugly design awards - this would win

Agree 100%. Don't like the notch, not an OLED fan either, burn in is real and it sucks.
I'll just buy the previous years model when the time comes to replace by 6splus.

 

[tooloud10]

Good point. Although IMO going from a 4" Form Factor to 5" could be a deal breaker for the SE users. They tend to be extremely focused on the 4" Form. The SE still sells in huge volume and is a Cash Cow for Apple. We also see the demand for the 4.7' 8 not developing. Is it from people wanting bigger phones, or not upgrading? It's a tough call for Timmy.

The 4" form factor of the SE would allow for about a 5" screen using the new form factor. I don't think anyone wants the 4" screen, they just want the smaller size.

Yeah, that's crazy. None of these would suit my needs or budget. Smaller size with a $599 price tag, MAYBE. Otherwise, I'll stick to older/cheaper iPhones.

You may be part of a smaller group than you realize. The Plus models have been a huge success, the X is already a huge success, and I can't wait to get an iPhone X Plus next year. I have an SE and a 7 Plus and while the SE is great to use as a phone and feels great in the hand, the screen is so small as to be almost unusable to me.

Meh.

Buy X. Sell it. Buy X Plus.

Best of all worlds.

I bought the X.
Best phone I have ever owned.

Will sell it next year and get the X Plus and get the best phone experience ever TODAY and for another 364 days while others wait.

Yep, these things hold their value so well it's easy to upgrade. I paid $799 for my 7 Plus as a refurb and the average on Swappa is $618 right now.

thats crazy they should lower the prices and start the XS on 799 and the plus at 899 or 949. I bought the X but its way too pricey. also they should make an iPhone SE2 and a smaller iPhone than the X for 649

How do you reconcile the part where you think it's too pricey with the part where you bought one?

So many people talk about the X being too expensive, yet they're flying off the shelves. There's no reason for Apple to lower the price until newer/better models are released.

 

[840quadra]

Glad I stuck with the 6S. The S models tend to be worth waiting for. They work out the hardware issues for the most part in the S release. Sure you don’t have the shiny new object first but I’ll take that over buying hardware that might have design issues.

I am not aware of any iPhone Release, incluidng S models that didn’t have some type of harware / software issue.

IPhone 6s for instance

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/16/iphone-6s-battery-percentage/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2015/10/09/iphone-6s-touch-id-overheat/#7ebd049d597b

And one that took Apple almost a year to address / acknoledge
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/02/iphone-6s-battery-shutdown-apple-statement/

I received a DOA 6S, it’s replacement needed a battery within the first year, and a 2nd with it’s current owner (close friend) in the 2nd year due to shutdowns.

Buying an S is no gurantee of trouble free ownership, in the same way that buying a new model is not a gurantee that you will have issues.

 

[spetznatz]

What I'd really like is an iPhone SE X (may need to rethink the name)--an edge-to-edge design in a smaller iPhone SE form factor.

THIS. (Although I think 4.5” would be nice ).

 

[tooloud10]

Not a chance. It will come in at $1,499.

Where do you guys come up with this stuff? There's always been a $100 price premium for the Plus models, and somehow everyone thinks it's going to go to a $500 price premium (+50%) with the next model. Not a chance.

 

[Lilok]

LCD can’t possibly be as close to the bezel as OLED, right?
Not sure about round corners (maybe just masking?).

How comes that lots of people think that an edgeless design is limited to oled only?!?
As far as i know lcd is thicker, but you can cut it also...

 

[WannaGoMac]

My hands are not small, but I just want something that fits in my pocket. I miss the days of super thin flip phones, but texting is almost impossible on those.

Weird, I must be the only person with no trouble fitting a plus in my pant or jacket pockets...

 

[redfirebird08]

Weird, I must be the only person with no trouble fitting a plus in my pant or jacket pockets...

I live in Texas, so jackets are very rare for me. My work pants are very thin material with small pockets, so even the "regular" size iPhone 6 is a bit too large. I'm wanting to downsize to the SE, but waiting on them to possibly update the chip/camera (maybe 2018).

 

[840quadra]

Man... Apple is blowing it with the iPhones.

People will stop buying them if these are the only options and prices.

What advantage does 1cm more of screen at the bottom give you? They are trying to make a full screen face but the notch ruins it. Therefore, don't do it.

Just leave the home button and touch ID an option. Or people will change devices.

If a fugly design awards existed, this would win

I look at it differently.

They moved the persistant status icons and clock up to their own small portions of the screen, to give me more realestate for the content I care about. I have more screen to enjoy my content, than I would have if they had a solid black bar across the top.

IMO, makes more sense to me than Edge screens on Samsung devices, but to each their own.

 

[bwintx]

You realize IPS is a type of display technology for TFT LCD? It’s like saying “SUVs, yes. Automobiles, meh.”

Just a few results from Google:

• https://newatlas.com/amoled-vs-ips-display-technology/39196/
• http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2083997/tft-lcd-ips.html
• https://www.asus.com/zentalk/in/thread-69756-1-1.html
  
• http://nauticomp.com/tft-vs-ips-display-whats-difference/ ("One of the major drawbacks of using a TFT LCD instead of an IPS is that the former doesn’t offer the same level of visibility as the latter. To get the full effect of the graphics on a TFT screen, you have to be seated right in front of the screen at all times.")

But, again, we're at least 10 months from its mattering.

 

[unobtainium]

I feel like everything Apple is making right now is compromised. The MBP comes with a wonky keyboard, lame TouchBar and huge price tag. The top iPhone models will now all be OLED, even if it gives you migraines and motion sickness. Face ID is the only option for the top-tier phones, etc. Basically, it's no longer an easy decision to go with the top of the line Apple products. They are all compromised or weird in one way or another. It used to be simple to decide.

 

[DNichter]

Perhaps dual camera will be the differentiating factor. Just like what they did with the 8s/7s.

I hope they get away from it, but I doubt it.
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Thanks for asking. I don't claim to have the answers, but I have these suggestions.

Ultra low profile symmetrical top and bottom chins to house the sensors.
No asymmetry on the display, ever.
Keep the curved corners if necessary.

Alternatively, a complete break from the past would be to go extremely sharp edges front on with square corners, with curves that contain the sensors which fold over and under the top and bottom.

All I know is a notch does not work for iOS11, it doesn't work for developers, and most of all it doesn't work for customers. It's too much of a compromise. The notch design is effectively a bunch of dead pixels at the top of the screen. The status bar is effectively pointless, completely useless and really not intuitive.

On a related note, parts of these lines has me thinking.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/31458797/SVPER-phone-ID-UI-Smartphone-Concept

Understand, was just genuinely curious to what you think would be a better solution. Now what you have shown here does look quite nice to me. If the technology allowed for it, I could see Apple choosing to go with a solution like this. Unfortunately I am not sure we are there yet, it took them a few years to get a kinect into the size of the notch, I think it will take a little bit more time. Considering where we are with existing, feasible tech, that can be produced in the millions. I am not sure there is a better solution than the notch. Have you used the X for an extended period of time? I only ask because it can be jarring at first, but eventually just blends away and doesn't take away from the user experience. Could there be some UI improvements? Oh for sure, but I think Apple will smooth those out over time. Doesn't take away from an otherwise great experience right now though.
[doublepost=1510602630][/doublepost]

Mass production began in June 2017. Everyone is under NDA.

But I’m sure JDI is producing thin bezel displays so they can dump them in the landfill. Because no one announced a phone yet.

If one day Apple can produce what you show, I'm all for it. I just don't see it happening for a few years.

 

[wolfshades]

So very glad I held off and didn’t buy the X this year.

I don't get that mentality. The X Plus will be essentially the same thing but bigger and a little improved in different areas. It's hardly going to be the type of experience (by comparison to the original X) that is worth waiting a year for. The X in like-new condition will fetch 70% of the retail value easily when selling next September. iPhone's have insane resale value, unlike any other technological device I've ever seen. Use that money towards the X+. For a few hundred dollars you're missing out on using one of the best phones on the market everyday for a year, but that's just me. I bought the X and will 100% buy the X+ in September, but I never once thought about 'waiting' just because I'd prefer a bit of a bigger screen.

I used to be like you, buying the latest and cutting edge technology. After a while you count the cost and you make a decision on whether to hang tight with the awesome Apple device you have, or ditch it and go for the latest. I still enjoy being one of the first with newer technology; I just wasn't willing to give up my 6 Plus - both because of style and because of size. Making the switch involves more than just screen real estate: the jump also means an end to the headphone jack most of the rest of you saw with iPhone 7. I'm willing to make the jump - I just want to be strategic about it, rather than forking out a large amount of cash every year. Up until this announcement, I had no idea Apple might be planning this. Now that I know there's a good chance, it makes my decision to hold off on buying the X a little more palatable.

 

[JPack]

If one day Apple can produce what you show, I'm all for it. I just don't see it happening for a few years.

Apple is not a follower. They are a leader.

Thin bezel LCD is not a challenge given the money Apple is pouring into JDI.

 

[Mahler12x]

And one more thing... the notch needs to go. While it's a good compromise for the branding of an Apple device, it's an ugly design aesthetic.

I think the notch isn't some design compromise, but a deliberate part of the aesthetic. I actually love that it's there and it becomes more so every day as you look at the endless sea of bland rectangles out there in the wild. I used to envy the S8 and Note. No longer. I'm in love with this phone.

 

[Xbfryfd]

I think the best we can hope for is:
LCD 6.1” - $699
OLED 5.8” - $899
OLED 6.5” - $1099
If they do make the 5.8” cheaper than it is now, though, what will the current X cost next year?

 

[Mike MA]

I‘m struggling whether or not to get the new iPhone X or wait for an enhanced iPhone 9 next year. Surely iPhone X is a nice phone. But I honestly think that a lot of the new features will be more mature.

 

[DNichter]

Apple is not a follower. They are a leader.

Thin bezel LCD is not a challenge given the money Apple is pouring into JDI.

Yet here we are

 

[PickUrPoison]

Can someone do the calculations on the physical size of the X Plus? Would it be basically the same dimensions as the current plus, just all screen?

Yes, a 6.50” X Plus would be almost identical in size to the current Plus.

If the ppi stayed at 458, Apple could use pixel dimensions of 1248 x 2703. This would be the same aspect ratio of 19.5:9, and would give screen dimensions of 2.72” x 5.90” with a diagonal of 6.50”.

Adding the same .34” total bezel of the X for width and height gives 3.06” x 6.24”. The 8 Plus is 3.07” x 6.24”. (The iPhone X is 174g, the larger size X Plus would weigh more like 210g, slightly heavier than the 8 Plus’s 202g.)

 

[BeefSupreme]

What a cluster****. They have the perfect opportunity to simplify and release just one 5.8" OLED model.

And continue to push me and others to the next note like they did this cycle? Not everyone wants a baby screen oled.

 

[MartiNZ]

And here I am trying to find a decent sub 5" phone because bigger is just uncomfortable and unnecessary. Where are they getting their ideas?