New 4-Inch 'iPhone 5e' Could Feature A8 Chip, 1GB of RAM, Apple Pay and VoLTE Calling

[smulji]

When there is so much hate, it is clear most people do not like this development.

Apple must not sell this phone. They just want to sell off their unused iPhone 6 inventory in guise of a new phone.

It better have 2 GB RAM or it would be DOA just like Apple Watch. Only extreme die hard fans or collectors would buy it.

It will compete poorly with Samsung Galaxy S7

Agreed RE: 2GB RAM. Both, the ATV4 & iPad mini 4, are using an A8 SoC with 2GB of RAM. I can't see any reason why Apple can't use that in this rumored 4" iPhone.

 

[trifid]

A "new" 4 inch iphone with A8 and 1gb is so outdated, it's 2016 people! I really doubt Apple would cripple a new product launch so badly just to sell them in china. The 5c failed, why would Apple repeat history?

I'd say A9 and 2gb is minimum, and I'm really hoping for improved front-camera as well.

 

[Mactendo]

Just let people have their opinions.

If a grown man wants a tiny phone compared to what the style is today, then let them.

Chances are, if they want a 4" iPhone, they probably drive around in a pink Volkswagen Beetle, have a tiny little house, have tiny little hands, get beat by their girlfriend, and like to eat like a bird.

For those who like to use their phone for what it's intended for, you know, high powered games, e-mail, photos, facebook, etc. Then get a phone that actually has a screen size that's in style.

Grown men and women just do and get what they want and like. Be it a big/small/medium phone/car/house/whatever. Kids, hipsters and grown sheeps are the ones who follow "today's style".

 

[Tycho24]

Look how quickly RIM collapsed, I know apple is a much bigger company but still..

& they dug their feet in the mud and refused to face the reality of what consumers want... Apple has repeatedly changed their mind to embrace consumer sentiment (camera on iPod, larger iPhone screens, stylus, etc.).

 

[Menel]

O dear, looks like the 4 inch fanboys are getting a very under powered device ...

How do you figure? What can the A8 *not* do?
For that matter what can the A7, or A6 *not* do... I still see A5 devices running iOS9 and current apps. A8 is 3 generations after that.

 

[macnewbie91]

So the millions upon millions of people that bought that size phone for years are all effeminate, weak males? Didn't realize phones were for "fitting in" instead of being used for the intended purpose in which the person bought it for. Remember when phones just made calls? Crazy, I know.
[doublepost=1452533948][/doublepost]
Or iPhone Mini ...

I also remember when huge glasses were in style along with suspenders... Gosh I must be weird, I know.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I don't know how anyone can forget that. Apple prided themselves on tiny phones for years when the competition had big phones and stressing the use of one thumb to reach the whole screen. They talked about it so much it was nauseating.

They did it because the industry was still pretty young and they had to claim that the form factor was the result of perfection. Saying : "yeah 4" is great, although someone believes that a slightly bigger phone is better" implied that 4" was not perfection. Back then, they had to sell the idea of perfection.
iPhone is not young anymore and now it requires a different approach.
It's all marketing.
[doublepost=1452535269][/doublepost]

Just let people have their opinions.

If a grown man wants a tiny phone compared to what the style is today, then let them.

Chances are, if they want a 4" iPhone, they probably drive around in a pink Volkswagen Beetle, have a tiny little house, have tiny little hands, get beat by their girlfriend, and like to eat like a bird.

For those who like to use their phone for what it's intended for, you know, high powered games, e-mail, photos, facebook, etc. Then get a phone that actually has a screen size that's in style.

I never attack personally on this website. But sir, you won the Idiot of the Year Award... and it's only january.
People - especially adults - chose based on their needs, not on fashion style. Go back reading Marie Claire to know what you will like next spring.

 

[smulji]

The phone for me is becoming less and less important for interaction with me and becoming a hub for no better term. I use my Watch for payments, etc, my iPad and MacBook for 95 % of anything I do online or in apps. The phone calls, texts, controls the watch, sends notifications, plays some tunes, GPS is helpful, soon CarPlay, essentially a hub to control and inform me by other devices. Very little interest in watching anything on the phone screen. At onetime the phone was the most important but as other devices are coming on the phone is sliding fast. The new phone purchase is now in a three year or more cycle for me, unless something out of normal happens. The new 4 inch phone will be OK for me, even with limited tech specs. Things are changing and the change will most likely have an impact on Apple moving forward.

It will impact everyone. The smartphone world is maturing, fast. Some would even call the beginning of the post-smartphone era:

https://techpinions.com/the-post-mobile-era/42998

 

[iGeek2014]

It'd be great if VoLTE launched here in the UK first!

I know Three UK have launched "Super Voice" in select areas first but EE, o2 et al have yet to enable the service AFAIK.

 

[nolankvn]

I imagine Jobs and Ive really believed 4" was the perfect form factor. The cynical alternative is that they wanted to milk the smaller size for as long as possible so they could use the larger form factor as the unique selling point in future models.

 

[\-V-/]

Rather than giving Apple that much power, to cause you to feel insulted (of all things), why not just purchase another brand?

Simple.

I'm not insulted. I don't want a smaller phone. It's insulting to those that have been asking since 2014. You're not going to twist this and make it about me. People have been asking for a flagship Apple phone in a smaller size for a while now.

I also remember when huge glasses were in style along with suspenders... Gosh I must be weird, I know.

Wow, there are a lot of bad analogies being made today. I don't remember a time when huge glasses and suspenders were a societal norm among millions of people across the planet.

 

[nordique]

It will very likely perform as fast as the iPhone 6s due to it having to push fewer pixels.

The iPod Touch 6 outperformed the iPhone 6 despite having a 1.1GHz A8 vs the iPhone 6's 1.4GHz A8. If the iPhone 5e has a 1.4GHz A8 it will be around the same perceived speed as the 6s.

Skip to the 4 minute mark.

The iPod touch 6th gen also performs about the same than the 5s as well (actually it benchmarks lower than the 5s lol)

Perceived speed....oh boy... the fact is when you're opening up most apps, there is a completely negligible difference in time it takes to open them. The 5s, itouch 6, and iPhone 6 are all basically the same in that regard. Very few games (if any) push the A7 to the point where the A8 is a noticeable upgrade in gpu, and even then the A9 is a much bigger jump in graphics power. So if the perceived speed of the itouch 6th gen is the same as the iPhone 6s, then it will be the same as the iPhone 5s. This is what is meant by "marginal upgrades" ... The iPhone 7 will be a "marginal" upgrade over the iPhone 6 as well. For big *perceived* jumps, you need to wait for multiple iPhone generations, often more than 2, to get that leap. The fact is the A9 is much, much more powerful than the A8, yet the average person with an iPhone 6 can't tell you the difference between it and an iPhone 6s when using it for daily tasks. The difference between the A7 and the A8 is significantly smaller. It's one of the smallest jumps ever in iPhone generations. And the average person has absolutely no idea about that.



I hope this isn't an accurate rumour, for the sake of those who are looking to upgrade from an iPhone 5s

If it has an A8 and 1GB, it makes no sense to pay the price difference to upgrade for what is ultimately a lateral upgrade in specs (unless you really really need Apple Pay)

But this is like paying for the same phone in terms of power and specs, just in a new case. Are the features such as Apple Pay enough to justify what could be as much as a 500$ For some people to upgrade?

Some people just want something "new" but it's giving me flashbacks to those wasting money going from the original iPhone 5 to the iPhone 5c...

But - assuming this rumour is true - this will be good for Apple's bank account as the general population doesn't know that the A8 is a small bump over the A7, especially when it comes to every day use (what the CPU drives and where the A7 and A8 are almost identical right down to the core) and will probably rush out in droves to purchase this phone without realizing they're buying, in essence, the exact same thing.

It makes more sense to the casual consumer on an iPhone 5c or 4s perhaps, or using even older iPhones. But for those with the 5s, this rumour's claim does not hint at an upgrade, the way one should expect. At least with the iPhone 6 people who upgraded got the larger display.

 

[Max(IT)]

Lots of people want small phones. Do you know why there is so much demand for large phones? Because no one makes a small phone that people want, they are either gimped on specs or are from some no-name manufacturer that no one knows about.

I strongly disagree that they make them low end because of the size. Look how thin they are able to make phones now, the ability to make small phones isn't that difficult. Most of what takes up large phones is simply the display and a bigger battery. The actual circuitry of a phone is very small and could easily fit in a 4" body. Also, seeing as how Sony has a 4K display in a 5.x" phone proves that you can get much higher PPI than what Apple currently offers. Besides, the display is the biggest battery culprit. Smaller display = ability to use a smaller battery. Besides, Android phones have twice the capacity of Apple phones in roughly the same size, so it's possible to get larger batteries in that form factor.

Cloud you please show me an Android phone with twice the battery capacity of an iPhone in the same size ?
Do you really think Apple is less able than any other manufacturer ?

 

[macnewbie91]

I'm not insulted. I don't want a smaller phone. It's insulting to those that have been asking since 2014. You're not going to twist this and make it about me. People have been asking for a flagship Apple phone in a smaller size for a while now.


Wow, there are a lot of bad analogies being made today. I don't remember a time when huge glasses and suspenders were a societal norm among millions of people across the planet.

I'm guessing you're like 14 then.

I never attack personally on this website. But sir, you won the Idiot of the Year Award... and it's only january.
People - especially adults - chose based on their needs, not on fashion style. Go back reading Marie Claire to know what you will like next spring.

It's called a joke. Perhaps I should've put the "/s" at the end of my post.

 

[SirCheese]

People - especially adults - chose based on their needs, not on fashion style.

And yet, people do choose based on fashion, go figure.

 

[apolloa]

This is one area where they copy Android phones and shouldn't. Why do all manufacturers insist on using low end specs for small phones?

They don't! Sony have been successfully making and selling it's 'Compact' version of it's top line Xperia Z series for several years now, with top end specs to match.

 

[daveeasa]

Just let people have their opinions.

If a grown man wants a tiny phone compared to what the style is today, then let them.

Chances are, if they want a 4" iPhone, they probably drive around in a pink Volkswagen Beetle, have a tiny little house, have tiny little hands, get beat by their girlfriend, and like to eat like a bird.

For those who like to use their phone for what it's intended for, you know, high powered games, e-mail, photos, facebook, etc. Then get a phone that actually has a screen size that's in style.

I am on a 16gb 4s since 2011, along with a good friend of mine. It is a great option for running once I liquipel'd it, fits into pockets well and is fairly durable. I use audible and/or listen to podcasts while using my interval timer app to follow my pre-planned workout. The 5s doesn't seem like enough of a bump so I've been waiting for a new 4" option even though I'd prefer a 3.5" screen if that were an option.

Steve Jobs to Tim Cook feels a lot like Obama to Hillary Clinton. Lots of popular support but overall it feels like a direction I'm not stoked on.

I have plenty of disposable income to spend and I laugh at how slow my 4s is but all of the other options don't seem to make any sense to me.

 

[nordique]

Replacing the A7 with the A8 would barely even make any difference. Look at the benchmarks for the iPhone 5s vs the iPhone 6. Even if it's for the resolution differences, the 6th gen iPod touch with its A8 performs exactly the same as the 5s on an A7 in benchmarks and real use.

The performance gap is nothing compared to the A6 to A7 or the A8 to A9. I wouldn't believe they would make the effort for almost no difference.

It should be given an A9 with 2 GB or RAM and be called the iPhone 5X instead. It could be sold for even $149 rather than $99 if they can't put an A9 for that cheap.

Yep. Yet the general public doesn't know this and some will be "upgrading" from the 5s to this phone.

It makes more sense for those looking for a new 4" phone with an iPhone 5/5c or still on any one of the 3.5" devices looking to upgrade to a smaller phone

 

[\-V-/]

I'm guessing you're like 14 then.

Or you're bad at analogies.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Looks like they will release this device so they don't have to sell the 6 for $449 this Fall...

They know that would cannibalize 6s and 7 sales.

 

[kupkakez]

I don't understand this. Why gimp the 4" phone? I'm not one that particularly wants a 4 inch model but I can accept the fact that plenty of people do. If you're going to fool with a 4" phone put it on par with the 6s and 6s+ none of this half assed spec "budget" phone.

 

[nordique]

It's not really THAT under powered is it? A8 is still really good.

It's not underpowered, and it's still good

But it's too similarly powered to the A7, and I bet a lot of 4" fans on tech rumour sites like this one have the 5s

They are disappointed because this rumour indicates it's basically the same phone they have been using since last 2013 (the performance can be expected to be the same, especially with an A8 and 1GB of ram, and the same apparent cameras as the 5s) ... Apple Pay alone is not worth the upgrade to many of these people and their frustration would come
From holding out for a legitimate upgrade in specs (more ram, much faster chip vs the A7)

I would remind them this is still only a rumour!

 

[TickleBladder]

Why does Apple always assume that we only want smaller devices because we want a cheaper option. We don't. We just want a phone that will fit in our pockets and we want the top specs too.

 

[cwwilson]

All this goes to show is that the market has spoken. 4" phones are seen as inferior to their 5"+ brethren and so they are slotted below as such. The vocal minority wants a 4" sized phone with flagship specs and by the looks of things, that isn't going to happen (or isn't technically feasible).

To me, Apple would be wasting their time with this unless that at the very least give it iPhone 6s-ish specs. If it's nothing more than a slightly improved 5s than I don't see it selling well enough to justify the production costs.

 

[easheer]

I don't understand this. Why gimp the 4" phone? I'm not one that particularly wants a 4 inch model but I can accept the fact that plenty of people do. If you're going to fool with a 4" phone put it on par with the 6s and 6s+ none of this half assed spec "budget" phone.

Agreed, but then they can't hit whatever lower price point they're targeting, which in all fairness, still won't be that low.