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Smeaton1724

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2011
836
806
Leeds, UK
Just give it the same specs as the iPhone 6s. Seeing as Apple only releases one iPhone per year rebrand the segment:
iPhone Mini (4"), iPhone (4.7"), iPhone Pro (5.5").
No monikers, then people will refer to them as iPhone Mini, Early 2016, Late 2016 etc, like it works for Macs.
 
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melgross

macrumors 6502
Jan 23, 2004
446
394
New York City
Replace a 4.7" model? Unlikely. I would think that Apple would want to continue with a year old variant of the 4.7" model in addition to a 4" model. Those are likely different enough customers that Apple would want to keep both.

But maybe they don't want four models? That would be the 7 and 7+, in addition to the 6S and 5 something or other.

Oh, who knows. This is only silly speculation anyway.
[doublepost=1453735959][/doublepost]
Just give it the same specs as the iPhone 6s. Seeing as Apple only releases one iPhone per year rebrand the segment:
iPhone Mini, iPhone, iPhone Pro.
No monikers, then people will refer to them as iPhone Mini 2015, 2016, 2017 etc, like it works for Macs.

Two phones a year. The 4.7 model, and the 5.5" model. This would be the third model.
 

iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
2,583
2,752
UK
My roller coaster of emotions continue. I'm so excited about this phone again!

Perhaps - and this is totally unsubstantiated - the 5SE will feature a glass front and back - evoking Apple's best design, the iPhone 4. Satiating all the fanboys like me who want a more manageable sized phone and don't give crap about 3D touch and who all miss the classic design. (too good to be true)

On topic - I think this article is slightly misleading though. This 4" won't really replace the 6, Apple will just stop selling the 6 in September. People looking for Apple's 2nd tier phone will just buy the 6s.

Only come September will the lineup be 7 / 6s / 5se.
 
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macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,106
19,604
This is what I think Apple should do. This is my personal opinion. Obviously Apple is smarter than me, but please let me know what you think! Sorry for the length but I'm trying to be thorough.

Every autumn, three new iPhones. The product is mature enough to support this now. Autumn 2017:

iPhone 7 Mini:

  • A10 chip, 2GB RAM (10-20% slower than iPhone)
  • 4" @2X retina display
  • 12MP camera
  • Day long battery target
  • BLACK/silver/few playful colors
  • Slightly bigger than the iPhone 4 (reduced bezels), thicker than the new iPhone and iPhone Plus
  • 32GB/128GB
  • $649/$749 off contract
iPhone 7:
  • A10S chip, 3GB RAM (baseline speed, more graphics power)
  • 5" @3X retina display
  • 16MP OIS camera, or the rumored new dual-camera system. Something to make it shine and use extra internal space over the Mini.
  • Day and a half battery target
  • BLACK/silver/gold/rose gold/new color
  • Between the size of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 (reduced bezels), thinner than the iPhone Mini
  • 32GB/128GB
  • $699/$799 off contract
iPhone 7 Plus:
  • A10X chip, 4GB RAM (ultimate configuration, 10-20% faster than the iPhone and best graphics power)
  • 6" @3X retina display
  • 16MP OIS camera, or the rumored new dual-camera system. Something to make it shine and use extra internal space over the Mini.
  • Maybe some fancy feature, like Apple Pencil support, or Touch ID integrated into the display to make it even slimmer
  • Two day battery target
  • BLACK/silver/gold/rose gold/new color
  • Between the size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (reduced bezels), between the thickness of the iPhone and iPhone Mini
  • 32GB/128GB/256GB
  • $749/849/949
This would require a bumping of the iPhone 7 price by $50. But I think tooling up a Mini model that can compete similarly to the other models would lower some margins, and where would it sit price-wise? I suppose they could price them the same, but then it makes it look like they're being unfair with the price of the Plus. Apple is always wanting to increase their margins. How do you do that? Make the most popular model a little more expensive, but still provide a base model at the same price for price-sensitive consumers. The bottom line is 4" and smaller worked for years—and technology is cyclical. Eventually more people will be calling out for a smaller model, and there is already a vocal minority (my wife and several of her friends included) that refuse to get a big iPhone.

As for the sizes, I think it's clean and simple to make everything 4", 5", and 6". It just looks simple. The new top-end Android phones are pushing 6". But the key here is if Apple can significantly reduce the bezel. You see, the problem with reducing the bezel (many other technical and home button issues aside) is that it makes the phone smaller (especially in height). When you do that the battery life takes a hit. BUT if they make the bezels smaller and increase the screen size a little, it will strike a nice balance AND the new models will not only look really sharp, but they'll even be slightly smaller than the old models! I made some mockups in Illustrator a while back to confirm this. It just depends highly upon how much bezel they are willing (or able) to part with.

As for the naming, as much as I'd like to remove the 7 number to make it clean and simple, the fact remains that the iPhone is on a more frequent upgrade cycle than Macs and iPads and having a number makes it a bragging thing and drives sales and it becomes this new, higher-up number object to desire. Furthermore Apple has gone back to numbers for the iPad, so I think that will stick for a while until we get to like something ridiculous: iPhone 13S Plus anyone?

As for the A10/S/X, I'm not completely sure if that would work. Alternatively they could do an A10 in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Mini, and an A10S in the Plus. And the A10 could just be clocked a little lower in the iPhone Mini to help with the smaller battery. Then the iPad Mini could use the A10, the iPad Air could use the A10S, and the iPad Pro could use the A10X. I think having three models makes sense. And the only reason I put 3GB of RAM is because there were some rumors of that becoming a thing for the plus model. Having more ram would be a good differentiation, but most likely I think that they'll keep the RAM pretty similar, if not only two configurations. I just liked the way it looked on paper, lol, and the current 2GB is plenty for the time being. Anything over that is just icing on the cake! Extra RAM on the Plus also makes more sense if they give it a 6" display and Apple Pencil support. Would make a great little moleskin for jotting down thumbnail sketches and anytime inspiration hits. For years I would carry a pen in my pocket, and I'd do it again if my phone could be used as a little drawing pad. Unfortunately for me I'm not willing to go up to a phablet, but I know many people would absolutely love that.

Alternatively, they could put the 6s guts into the 4" form factor and call it a day. Seems like an Apple thing to do, lol. The 6s is a beast of a phone though, so it wouldn't be all bad. If anything this new 4" phone at the minimum needs 2GB of RAM.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
Just give it the same specs as the iPhone 6s. Seeing as Apple only releases one iPhone per year rebrand the segment:
iPhone Mini (4"), iPhone (4.7"), iPhone Pro (5.5").
No monikers, then people will refer to them as iPhone Mini 2015, 2016, 2017 etc, like it works for Macs.

Get out of here with your logic.
 
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AirdanMR

macrumors 6502
Oct 11, 2015
342
276
Just give it the same specs as the iPhone 6s. Seeing as Apple only releases one iPhone per year rebrand the segment:
iPhone Mini (4"), iPhone (4.7"), iPhone Pro (5.5").
No monikers, then people will refer to them as iPhone Mini 2015, 2016, 2017 etc, like it works for Macs.

That would be the correct and most elegant branding option.

Sadly I doubt they will do it.
 

GoodWheaties

macrumors 6502a
Jul 8, 2015
781
835
Why would they put 1gb of RAM on an A9? Or why would they make more A8 with 1gb of RAM after they've started making it with two for the mini?
Yeah it seems pretty unlikely they would make a different version of the A9 just for this phone for maybe a year
 

Smeaton1724

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2011
836
806
Leeds, UK
Replace a 4.7" model? Unlikely. I would think that Apple would want to continue with a year old variant of the 4.7" model in addition to a 4" model. Those are likely different enough customers that Apple would want to keep both.

But maybe they don't want four models? That would be the 7 and 7+, in addition to the 6S and 5 something or other.

Oh, who knows. This is only silly speculation anyway.
[doublepost=1453735959][/doublepost]

Two phones a year. The 4.7 model, and the 5.5" model. This would be the third model.

It is one launch period though. Like macs, you can have both a 13" and a 15" that are called 'Early 2015' release, so for iPhones it would work like this under device name:

iPhone Mini, Early 2016 (4")
iPhone, Late 2016. (4.7")
iPhone Pro, Late 2016. (5.5")

Then if there is a refresh, then it would be:
iPhone Mini, Late 2016 (4")

It has worked like the above for macs since forever. The current iOS Device naming strategy for iPad and iPhone is getting ridiculous, imagine if the iMac had followed suit!
 
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jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,139
4,319
Um, I don't think this will be the reason iPhone 6 and 6 plus will be discontinued in the fall. iPhone 7 will be that reason.
I think the problem is the article mentions "fall" when it really means Spring. Right now they are selling 5s, 6, 6+, 6S and 6S+. After March/April they will just have the 5SE, 6S, and 6S+. So basically simplifying their production lines.
 

mbh1976

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2014
176
408
People need to quit complaining about this. Sure I wish it was higher but I'm guessing over half the people with iPhone are like my parents who don't have more then 10 app on there phone. They don't put music or other media on it and still have 5+ GB free. If you want bigger get a 64 GB
Agreed. I am a fairly heavy iPhone user, but made the mistake of getting a 16G 5s years ago- I have 81 apps which fit fine. The only issue is if you have a ton of music downloaded, but with Spotify/Applemusic this isn't as problematic unless you are flying/traveling internationally. That said, I'll opt for 64G if avail, but 16G is probably enough for the majority of users.
 

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,106
19,604
As a side note, I am super excited that the 4" iPhone seems to be happening. At first it was more like a pipe dream. My wife is really happy about it. When I order hers, I'll probably give it a spin first. I half want to switch back to the tiny size. I had my original iPhone out last night (been packing up the house and found the original big 5W charger) and kinda missed it. But I won't move down in size if the specs are considerably lower. I imagine most people who really want the 4" size are willing to pay the full price, so I hope they don't handicap it much.
 
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mbh1976

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2014
176
408
My roller coaster of emotions continue. I'm so excited about this phone again!

Perhaps - and this is totally unsubstantiated - the 5SE will feature a glass front and back - evoking Apple's best design, the iPhone 4. Satiating all the fanboys like me who want a more manageable sized phone and don't give crap about 3D touch and who all miss the classic design. (too good to be true)

On topic - I think this article is slightly misleading though. This 4" won't really replace the 6, Apple will just stop selling the 6 in September. People looking for Apple's 2nd tier phone will just buy the 6s.

Come September the lineup will be 7 / 6s / 5se.
Why on earth would you want a glass back? Do you like being twice as likely to break the glass on the phone?
[doublepost=1453736685][/doublepost]
Ergonomically terrible though.
How is that? It is way easier to handle than a 6. Curved edges are awful.
 

1applerules1

macrumors regular
Nov 17, 2015
235
1,043
That's no good argument.

First of all, the iPhone 7 and 6s will also probably start at 16 gb. Those are not entry level devices. Second, iPhones are expensive. The entry level device is almost $700 in pretty much every country outside the USA. So we're talking $700 devices with 16 GB.

However, the man issue is that a 16 GB iPhone is just cumbersome. It's full before you know it and then you can't really enjoy the phone because everything you do will make this pop-up appear saying you have to remove stuff. Take a video? Nope. Download some music for a holiday? Nope. How about playing a game that takes up a few hundred MB? Nope.

All the cool stuff requires space and you don't have space, therefore you can't do cool stuff. You can look it whatever way you want, but it just sucks to have an iPhone that can't be used properly.
[doublepost=1453735169][/doublepost]That's nonsense because Safari doesn't just save whatever is visible, it saves the whole page that is loaded, also the part that is not visible.

I have a 16gb iPhone 6s, and as a professional photographer I've literally never had an issue with storage. And 1GB of ram is totally usable, if you have to refresh a page it shouldn't be a deal breaker, and if it is I don't know what to tell you. I have well over 4,000 pictures in the cloud and I can fetch any I want at any time. People are perfectly happy with 16gb.
 

bladerunner2000

Suspended
Jun 12, 2015
2,511
10,478
Once the iPhone 7 comes, the 6 will become "their peak aesthetically thus far". Always been, always will be.

No, the 6 and 6s are really ugly designs. Even the 4S is nicer than the 6.
[doublepost=1453736855][/doublepost]
I have a 16gb iPhone 6s, and as a professional photographer I've literally never had an issue with storage. And 1GB of ram is totally usable, if you have to refresh a page it shouldn't be a deal breaker, and if it is I don't know what to tell you. I have well over 4,000 pictures in the cloud and I can fetch any I want at any time. People are perfectly happy with 16gb.

The 16gb is not an issue because you clearly DON'T USE IT.
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,545
6,042
Does anybody else feel like Apple is choosing March for no reason other than to steal the spotlight from Samsung?

I'm pretty sure the entire reason Samsung chooses to release new products in March is just so they're as far out of Apple season as possible - they want their time in the spotlight and they know that if they and Apple release products at the same time, all the focus will be on Apple.
 
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Dydegu

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2015
955
2,990
Pennsylvania
I kind of like the idea of it just being called the iPhone mini. It doesn't need a number because the people who buy these phones aren't looking for the latest and greatest anyway. Whenever they update the small phone, they'll just do it quietly with the next generation.

Fall 2016:

iPhone Mini (what they should call it)
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus

That's a good lineup.

I like iPhone Mini or iPhone Air. Small form factor, some of the high-end features, attractive price, etc. It's a good way to get those world-changing features, like Apple Pay and Touch ID out there to the mass market. It'd also make it easier for people to get an Apple Watch, making the cost of admission lower there. This could become the new "enterprise" phone, meaning they can get rid of the 16GB option for the iPhone eventually. It's the MacBook Air, the iPad Nano, the iPad mini. Entry level = smaller size.

I don't buy that the iPhone 5se is primarily targeted to people who want a smaller phone, or else they'd simply make a 4" iPhone 7. Apple is more likely to make the larger phones worth the screen upgrade (which is exactly what they'll do with iOS 10) than create a whole new product with a smaller screen size.
 
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