Two reports from Taiwan’s Digitimes news site suggest that Apple will launch three iPhone models for its annual update – and they’ll include a 4in iPhone 6c.

The iPhone 6c (Digitimes calls that a “tentative” name for the phone) will be pitched as an entry-level to mid-range device and as such is likely to use a plastic case, much like the iPhone 5c. The price tag, it claims, will probably be in the $400-500 (around R4,800 to R6,000 – without our usual markup) range – quite a bit cheaper than the iPhone 5c’s launch price of $600 (in South Africa, it cost around R8,500).

In our opinion, one of the reasons the iPhone 5c didn’t set the world on fire was that it felt like a mid-range phone but was very much priced like a high-end one. If Apple can truly push the price down to something more palatable for its follow-up, there’s a huge market to exploit, not only in the developing world but in regions where the company is already well-established too. A lot of people choose Android and Windows Phone over iOS primarily because of price – and many of these would doubtless shift over to Apple products given the chance.

As for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus replacements, Digitimes’ other report says that they will use new Apple A9 processors (the 6c will use the A8 CPU). We’d expect them to look much like the current models from the outside. All three new phones will have Touch ID scanners, NFC chips and Corning Gorilla Glass protection over their screens.

The update is expected to come in the second half of 2015, with September looking highly likely.

We’ll bring you more iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and 6c rumours as they emerge.

Source: Digitimes 1, 2