Even though the big-display iPhone devices have accumulated a lot of fans, a group of Apple loyalists still like the small screen device. The popularity of the iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 is a prime example. Probably because of this, Apple decided to bring a successor to its much popular, affordable smartphone iPhone SE.
The smartphone has recently become the buzzing topic of rumor mills as the device is expected to appear in the market sometime in 2020. A new report by MyDrivers claims the iPhone SE successor is already going through trial production. The report claims commercial production of the device will begin in February and it is expected to be available in the market by March 2020.
The report also confirms that Apple has named the new device iPhone 9. A previous rumor claimed the first iPhone of 2020 would either be named iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9.
Price and availability
Unlike existing iPhone models, the iPhone 9 would be priced in an affordable bracket and focus on price-conscious markets, including India. According to the report, the iPhone 9 is expected to be available at below 3,000 yuan, which roughly translates to SGD 590 or $432.
The iPhone 9 is expected to arrive in the market in at least two storage versions - 64 GB and 128 GB. The mentioned price may be for the 64 GB edition, while the 128 GB is expected to cost SGD 50-70 more.
Considering the iPhone SE launch price of $399, the cost of the iPhone 9 sounds a decent one.
Design and other factors
Recently, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo threw some light on the upcoming iPhone 9. He claimed the phone would come with a touch ID sensor housed in the bezels of the device. It would be capable of offering available touch ID functionalities. But for the reduced price, Apple would sacrifice 3D touch functionality, while retaining the iPhone 8-like physical home button.
The iPhone 9 is also expected to sport a 4.7-inch display and be powered by A13 Bionic processor which runs the current iPhone 11 series of devices. The device would also have 3 GB RAM. Besides, Apple might roll out a bigger display variant with a 5.5-inch or 6.1-inch display.
However, the display would be an LCD one, instead of OLED or AMOLED. The device would also sacrifice 5G connectivity.
Apple's target
Apple aims to produce around 2-4 million iPhone 9 units every month and is expected to push approximately 30 million iPhone 9 devices in 2020.
