The rumoured launch date for a new, smaller iPhone model seemingly comes from a presentation from China Mobile, noticed by MyDrivers. According to the website, the upper right box of the chart shown onscreen states a new Apple handset being released in April of 2016.
Although the characters to the right are hard to read, the presentation slide does mention “Apple” in the text in question. Additionally, the column above it does state the month of April.
But, it should be said that in Mandarin, the word “iPhone” is generally written out in Chinese.
The initial report refers to the awaited new handset as an “iPhone 7C,” but Apple tends to update its flagship devices in the fall time period. It would appear unlikely that a smartphone branded “iPhone 7C” would be launched before an “iPhone 7.”
Rather, most media referred to the rumoured smartphone as an iPhone 6C, based on the fact that the 4-inch device is expected to feature a lot of the same components as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S series.
The iPhone 6C has been the topic of multiple rumours in recent weeks. Particularly, Apple is thought to be working on a new, smaller 4-inch model with Apple Pay support and an A9 processor.
It’s predicted that a new 4-inch iPhone would be a low-end model, taking the place of the iPhone 5S at the $449 price range. It has been suggested by reports that the 3D Touch pressure sensing input of the iPhone 6S series will be absent, but will feature a metal chassis granting it a more “premium” feel than the iPhone 5C cast.
An April 2016 release for an iPhone 6C would line up with a new report claiming that Apple is organizing a March 2016 event. Particularly, it was stated that Apple could debut a new 4-inch iPhone at the March event, as well as a second-generation Apple Watch.
Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst at KGI Securities, has also pegged a new 4-inch iPhone for an early 2016 release. He thinks the handset will look a lot like an iPhone 5S, although it will feature “2.5D” cover glass, a bit curved like on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.
Regarding the flagship 2016 model, Kuo thinks the so-called iPhone 7 Plus will sport 3GB of RAM in its A10 processor, an enlargement over the 2GB found in the A9 chip on the iPhone 6S Plus. Although the larger 5.5 model will get the RAM upgrade, he suggested that the “iPhone 7” probably won’t see a RAM increase, and will sport the same 2GB as the iPhone 6S.
