Apple’s about to step up their game, just in time to try and counter Huawei’s sudden rise in the ranks. In September the golden fruit company will announce three new devices, based on the iPhone X, that will enter the market at a range on price points, with a variety of sizes on offer as well as a few new colours.
One of these handsets is set to be a budget device, according to a recent report from Bloomberg. You might be wondering why Apple is exploring pricing options beyond ‘expensive’ and ‘more expensive’. With handsets becoming even more costly with each new launch, Apple needs to adjust their strategy slightly — many who’d like to bear the Apple insignia doesn’t have the funds required to do so. Enter the budget iPhone X.
This new, cheaper device will look like the iPhone X, but will feature a 6.1-inch screen (or a display between 6in and 6.1in, based on reports). The phone will have multiple colour options and will be dropping Apple’s usual stainless steel casing for aluminium edging. It will be dropping OLED in favour of LED for the panel, in the interests of remaining budget. Just how cheap ‘budget’ is in this case isn’t known yet but this is Apple we’re talking about.
On the bigger, pricier side, Apple will launch the largest iPhone seen yet, one that’ll feature an OLED panel. The front may be suggestive of the iPhone X but it should bear the signature iPhone glass back and stainless steel edges with dual camera sensors in the rear. On the software front, we’ll most likely see the ability to view content side-by-side in certain apps being brought to this device. Hey, it’ll have the screen size for this feature to work.
The third device will essentially be an upgraded iPhone X with a 5.8 inch OLED display. Less is known about this one, perhaps because it’s more of a direct upgrade on an existing device, but camera and processor improvements are expected to be the highlights here.
These new devices will have Apple’s new gesture-based control system, along with biometric security system, Face ID. The two larger phones will likely feature dual-SIM slots in certain regions — we don’t expect South Africa to be one of those regions but we can live in hope.
But, what to name these new additions? They’ll all look similar but feature different hardware and software, while the cheapest model will be larger than the mid-range version — something that could prove confusing for the sort of folks who don’t read Stuff. Name-wise we’ll likely see an ‘S’ and a ‘Plus’ moniker chosen for the budget and larger version respectively but the report notes that Apple’s been chopping and changing names and nothing’s final yet.
Apple will also announce a lineup of updated hardware this year– like updated AirPods, an AirPower wireless charger, a new Apple Watch, and revamped iPad Pro tablets. The Watch is due for small design changes, while the iPad Pro lineup may be losing the Home button in favour of FaceID. All this new hardware will support Apple’s growing digital offerings and streaming services like Music and the upcoming Apple TV streaming service.
Source: Bloomberg
