We have come across some strange rumours, but this one is rather odd as well as it claims that Apple intends to take a step back and introduce a new 4-inch iPhone sometime next year for one-handed operation.
The news [Translated] comes from Taiwan as members of Apple’s supply chain have been talking about Cupertino’s plans of launch a new 4-inch smartphone, which may be named iPhone 6S or iPhone 6 Mini. According to rumours, Apple’s decision is based on decline in demand of the iPhone 6 Plus, which despite showing buoyancy in initial days, has seen a decline in demand.
Recent reports from analysts claim that iPhone 6 Plus sales are below those of iPhone 5S and even below iPhone 5C – something that Apple doesn’t like to see. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 on the other hand is still selling at a rapid pace. In UK alone the iPhone 6 is outselling its bigger-screened sibling by a ratio of 4-to-1.
Apple’s decision of going for bigger iPhones may have left a void in the 4-inch arena and with iPhone 5S already a year old device now, Apple might not be able to ship as many units of the handset as it would want in 2015.
Also, there have been prior reports of Apple deciding against the iPhone 5C and iPhone 4S. If both these handsets are discontinued next year, Apple would need a new 4-inch device to fill the void as iPhone 5S might not be able to pull it off for the company alone.
If we go by Apple’s trend of releasing a ‘X’ variant in one year followed by a refresh ‘XS’ the next, we could see the company release iPhone 6S as a refresh next year along with a 4-inch iPhone 6 Mini.
