It has been a rough week for Apple. Hackers have exposed 1.4BN iPhones and iPads worldwide and 2020 iPhone leaks have made the upcoming 2019 upgrades look redundant. But hidden among them was a major iPhone cancellation, and it makes a lot of sense.
Apple’s iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR
APPLE
In a stunning exclusive, legendary Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed Apple will kill off its premium 5.8-inch iPhone X/XS/11 and replace it with the spiritual heir to the iPhone SE but with flagship specs. In an age where smartphone makers think bigger is better, it’s a radical move.
But it’s also the right move. Kuo says Apple’s replacement will be just 5.4-inches and, in combination with its bezel-less design, iPhone fans will have their first truly one-handed premium device since the iPhone 5. Yes, there was the iPhone 8 (which measures 5.44-inches thanks to its big bezels) but that device had inferior specifications to the iPhone 8 Plus.
Will iPhone fans really go back in time and flock to a smaller model? The data says yes. As it stands, the 5.8-inch iPhone is a terrible proposition. It sits too close to the more affordable 6.1-inch iPhone XR and its sales are being cannibalised. The iPhone XR is Apple’s top-selling model, but even the second-placed iPhone XS Max is outselling the iPhone XS by 3-4x. Meanwhile, the iPhone SE sells out in minutes every time Apple releases new stock.
The message is clear: people like big phones, people like small phones. If you sit in the middle of that, you better be cheap.
2020 5.4-inch and 6.7-inch iPhones Vs current sizes – renders based on leaks
BEN GESKIN
Also working in Apple’s favour, is rivals have completely disregarded small flagship phones. Google’s 5.5-inch Pixel 3 is the closest on paper, but it has large bezels which make it more than 5.7-inches long, pushing it into that premium no man’s land Apple is wisely about to exit.
A 5.4-inch iPhone 12, 6.1-inch iPhone XR3 and an enlarged 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Max give Apple surgical precision to target every kind of buyer. Throw in their 5G advantage and new punch-hole design over the incremental (and objectively ugly) 2019 upgrades and Apple is onto a winning hand. It’s just a shame that for many users, it will come a year too late.
[“source=forbes”]
