This will be the first lower-cost iPhone model since the iPhone SE. It will look similar to the iPhone 8 from 2017 and include a 4.7-inch screen, Bloomberg News has previously reported. The iPhone 8 is still on the market, currently selling for $449, whereas Apple sold the iPhone SE for $399 when that handset launched in 2016.
The new phone is expected to have Touch ID built into the home button, reusing established Apple technology instead of opting for an in-display fingerprint sensor like most modern Android rivals. It will not have Apple’s Face ID biometric authentication, but it will feature the same processor as Apple’s current flagship device, the iPhone 11.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Apple Expects iPhone Shipments to Return to Growth in 2020
Apple’s more affordable iPhones have proven popular with consumers, including the latest iPhone 11, whose starting price was $50 lower than Apple’s typical pricing. Strong demand for iPhones has prompted Apple to ask Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make more chips in the current quarter, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Apple is planning a slew of new high-end iPhones for release later in 2020 that include 5G connectivity, faster processors, and new 3-D cameras on the back, Bloomberg News has reported.
A cheaper offering may help Apple better compete in the most price-competitive and fast-growing emerging phone markets, particularly India. iPhones are still a hard sell in the country, which is overrun by aggressively-priced Android rivals coming in at less than $200. Still, Apple has shown a will to carve out a niche for itself and is eyeing locations for Apple stores within its borders.
The U.S. tech juggernaut is hoping its handset shipments will return to growth this year, has set itself the goal of shipping more than 200 million units in 2020. The successor to the iPhone SE will play a significant role in that task.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Debby Wu in Taipei at [email protected];
Mark Gurman in Los Angeles at [email protected]
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