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No 4-inch ‘iPhone 6c’ at Sept. 9 event, iPhone 5c to be discontinued, 5s/6/6 Plus staying

Screenshot 2015-08-27 08.42.58

While Apple will unveil a pair of next-generation iPhones at its September 9th event, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, don’t expect a new 4-inch “iPhone 6c” to show up on stage. Sources say that while Apple has been working on a new 4-inch iPhone with the capabilities of last year’s iPhone 6, the device is not yet ready to ship. Interestingly, Apple has also internally prototyped a new, smaller iPhone with a 3.5-inch display, the same size of the iPhone’s screen from the first model in 2007 to the iPhone 4S in 2011, but it does not appear that the company plans to move forward with actually releasing such a device.

In addition to not releasing a new 4-inch phone, Apple currently plans to discontinue the iPhone 5c upon the release of the new 6S and 6S Plus, according to sources. Launched in fall 2013 alongside the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 5c has been controversial for its believed-to-be underwhelming sales numbers and aging feature set. Still available as of today, the iPhone 5c includes the A6 chip introduced with the iPhone 5 in 2012 in addition to older cameras. But for those interested in 4-inch iPhone screens, Apple will retain the iPhone 5s from 2013 and drop the on-contract price to free, per sources. It is possible that the 5c could stay on sale in some regions, much like the iPhone 4 remained available in some budget-conscious countries following its U.S. discontinuation.

While Apple discontinued the iPhone 5 upon the release of the iPhone 5s in 2013, Apple is expected to keep selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus after the new 6S and 6S Plus models begin shipping. Of course, the 2014 iPhones will drop in price by $100 a piece, staggered by capacity, at least for carriers offering pricing similar to last year’s. In summary, it appears that this fall’s new iPhone line up will be the following: the 5s as the entry-level device, the 6 and 6 Plus in the middle, and the new 6S and 6S Plus sitting at the top of the lineup. The new phones will include faster processors, 12-megapixel rear cameras with 4K video support, Force Touch, more efficient cellular chips built by Qualcomm, and animated wallpapers.

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Comments

  1. driverbenji - 9 years ago

    The 5s will go into the 5c form factor, maybe they will even add an NFC chip, IMO. Keep in mind, the 5c, internally, is identical to the 5, only the LTE chip was updated for more LTE bands, as the 5 had none that would work in emerging markets, such as china, it is much less expensive to tool a new external for the electronics, over reengineering the whole thing. Also, the 5/5s form factor has reportedly been the most difficult to produce. Apple, some months ago, also leaked a pic of a “5c” with a Touch ID instead of regular home button, and the background was that seen on the 5s, not the dotted colorful backgrounds we see in pics of the 5c. These are some of the hints and reasons I see for the move.

  2. RP - 9 years ago

    Aww. I want a slick 3.5 screen as a sport model for people always on the go. It sounds perfect for me while jogging or gym or at work as im always on the road.

  3. driverbenji - 9 years ago

    I also think Apple will drop the 6 Plus, it will be this:

    iPhone 5s(c)
    iPhone 6
    iPhone 6s
    iPhone 6s Plus

  4. nickman55 - 9 years ago

    Why is this “news”? The headline should have been “Apple to follow the same pattern they have followed since releasing the iPhone 4”
    Seriously, why is everyone so caught up with the iPhone 5c being a failure? It was an iPhone 5 in a plastic case. That means that when the 5s was released, Apple didn’t do some new, unheard of pricing scheme. Let’s look at how the new iPhone has affected all the older phones in the past…
    iPhone 4s – $199
    iPhone 4 – $99
    iPhone 3Gs – Free

    iPhone 5 – $199
    iPhone 4s – $99
    iPhone 4 – Free

    iPhone 5s – $199
    iPhone 5c – $99 (you know, the phone that is actually an iPhone 5)
    iPhone 4s – Free

    iPhone 6 – $199
    iPhone 5s – $99
    iPhone 5c – Free

    Based on over four years of pricing data, here is what we can expect when the 6s comes out
    iPhone 6s – $199
    iPhone 6 – $99
    iPhone 5s – Free

    Obviously the 5c is going to be discontinued. It’s not because of “poor sales” or anything like that. It’s because the hardware in the phone is actually four years old at this point, and that has always been when Apple stops selling the phones.

    • ag80911 - 9 years ago

      Agreed…this doesn’t sound like rocket science. I am guessing Mark just got rock solid confirmation and he is passing that along. If you are on one of the upgrade programs these prices 99, 199 are irrelevant. You will be able to upgrade to the latest phone at no cost.

    • PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

      Apple never sold the iPhone for free.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

      what you aren’t accounting for is that with the 5c Apple started the split of a continuous stream of new iphones into distinguished product lines that get updated on their own. Look at the macbook and macbook pro. They are both laptops but they maintain unique appeal. The iphone is beyond the point in maturity where it can split up in lines. The 5c was the first new iphone line. It would be pretty odd if they just killed it after a couple years.

      Like you said, if poor sales isn’t the reason to discontinue it, then wouldn’t moving the 5s internals down to “upgrade it” be the more logical path? As a form factor and design it’s actually really good. People like the colors and they like the size. It works great as a first iphone for kids.

      That would then leave a gap in the lineup where the 5s currently is. But the most obvious thing to me since the ipod got upgraded is a 4″ iphone 6. This would move the 6 down but distinguish it from the 6s which otherwise would have been a repeat of the 4/4s. Remember when everyone said the 4s was boring because it didn’t look different from the 4? I don’t think apple wants to go back to that with the 6 and 6s when the 5s and 5c solved that for them. The downside from the 5c was everyone was talking about how it wasn’t cheap and how poorly it was selling. I’m sure Apple just sat there and smiled as the 5s sold better as a result. It’s better people talk shit about your cheap phone than call the new phone not different enough.

  5. dksmidtx - 9 years ago

    Please – somebody – will there be OIS on the 6s? Why only on the aircraft carrier, and not the cruiser?

    • cdm283813 - 9 years ago

      As someone that owns a S6 and iPad Air 2 there is no reason why Apple couldn’t give the smaller iPhone 6 not only OIS but also the 1080p display. HTC did 4.7″ 1080p back in 2013 and OIS was in the LG G2 back in 2013 as well. The G2 was not even considered a phablet back then.
      Apple is purposely gimping the smaller iPhone to sale the large one at a higher profit. But look at what Samsung has done; the Note 5 is basically a larger S6 with S-pen and 1GB of memory which is barely missed in the S6. The S6 actually keeps the IR blaster which I use daily and is $100 cheaper..
      But at the end of the day I will most likely be buying the iPhone 6s for my wife only because she’s not a tech head like me. Or I will try to talk her into a Moto X pure for almost half the cost. Getting her an Android 3 years ago was a disaster but today I think she is ready for it

  6. Hmm, makes me wonder how Apple is going to lure over people to the 6S and 6S Plus if they are keeping the old phones. Maybe they will stick to a 16GB version of the two older phones (maybe even ditching the 6 Plus) and then early next year replace the iPhone 6 with an iPhone 6c. Hopefully 6S and 6S Plus will start at 32GB giving it another selling point.

  7. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

    really disappointing that a new 4″ model isn’t out this fall. My 4s got ios 9 but apple had to pull a dick move and not include public transit directions maps for it. I still don’t understand that one. What hardware limitations are preventing me from having a feature they had before in even older hardware >: [

    I still think the 4s height with a 4″ screen would be the most appealing form factor. I’ll probably have to wait until apple drops all ports and makes the home/lock button switch like the apple watch. You can already see apple watch thinking invading phone hardware. It’s only a matter of time before they ditch the ports.

    • 4s had 3.5″ screen.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

        the 4s still has a 3.5″ screen – I still use it. I don’t want to upgrade from this old 3.5″ phone to an not-as-old-but-still-old 4″ device like the 5s when there could be a brand new design with new features and internals around the corner.

  8. Robert Genchi (@rgenchi) - 9 years ago

    5S, the last great iPhone. If I could just get the guts of the 6 into my 5S body….

  9. cody1213 - 9 years ago

    Oh well. Maybe we’ll get the smaller screen back next cycle. Thank you for investigating the screen size rumors.

  10. Delia Chang (@delyjyfy) - 9 years ago

    What a waste of money. How many new iPhones will Apple release that are more or less the same as the previous generation? Why do Apple fans line up to throw their money away on this trivial crap? No wonder people always complain about not having money anymore.

    The problem is that most Americans borrow to the max and then whine about not having enough money . So you have a nice house, car, iphone, and boat. Can you afford them or does it really matter at this period of time?

    I’m just gonna make smart decisions (aka no iPhone) with my money so I don’t end up with an empty bank account:

    1) Paying off my debts as they come to me. Never holding a credit card balance longer than a month. If this means living in a small studio apartment and eating ramen, rice, and beans, so be it.

    2) I will always buy small, fuel efficient and durable cars. I drive a 2006 Honda Civic now. It costs me nothing to fill up and next to nothing to insure ($24/month from Insurance Panda… woohoo!). I will not drive when I don’t need to, and use public transportation whenever possible.

    3) Developing multiple revenue streams. Doing side jobs. Building up small businesses. Doing contract work. Basically doing whatever I can to generate income from multiple sources.

    4) Grow my revenue and assets no matter what. Make sure I am always expanding and develop them to the point that they consistently generate reliable cash flow.

    5) The most important one – make as much as I can. Save as much as I can.

    iPhones… ecigarettes… Starbucks… Chipotle Burritos…new clothes.. organic lipgloss… expensive yoga classes. Why not try living in your means for once? No wonder we have a debt crisis

    • colby (@Colbywankanobi) - 9 years ago

      Are you suggesting that because the US government has no control over its spending, that it is some how a reflection of all Americans? Let people like what they like, and stop judging others because they don’t think the same as you do.

  11. Matt Russell - 9 years ago

    6 Plus will have to go because it simply won’t fit in with the lineup without eating into the sales of the 6S Plus and it doesn’t really make since that the “plus” version of a phone will stay in the lineup when there’s already two phones out that will outperform it. The normal 6 I can see staying as the $99 option as long as the 6C isn’t announced.

  12. taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

    Was the new rumor today the 6c will be coming out late October or early November. I don’t see Apple releasing a 6c, with the Asian Market loving the larger screened phones I don’t see why Apple would release a new 4″ model.

    Also I think next year Apple will finally offer with s Allen too and bottom bezels, so will have more screen in a smaller footprint.

  13. incredibilistic - 9 years ago

    I’m admittedly psychotic about this little detail but what is it with journalists on the internet that refuse to use the proper nomenclature of incremental series’ iPhones?!

    The lead title of the article gets it right, e.g. iPhone 5s, 6s, but throughout the article you bounce back and forth. No discipline in writing I suppose. Just imagine if every time another site quoted you (which happens often) they typed it out as 9TO5MAC.com?!

    Maybe that wouldn’t bother you but it would drive me nuts.

    • Actually, I think Apple contributed to that confusion. They started with a capital S when they introduced the 3GS and continued with that through 4S and 5S. When they introduced the 5c, that’s when it started to get confusing. So they changed 5S to 5s. They did the same with iPod Touch which became iPod touch with the 6th generation.

  14. Jim Phong - 9 years ago

    No way Apple will continue selling iPhone 6 and 6 Plus after the release of the 6s and 6s Plus. It would be just plain stupid.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

      I agree. I think what they did with the 5s and 5c was actually a great sales move and I’d be surprised if they undid that. Distinguished product lineups make choosing a new device easier for customers. I really thought the lineup would be 6s+, 6s, 6-4″, and then upgraded 5c. The idea of a “6c” never made sense to me. I think the plastic color phone was always meant for the lowest tier but Apple patiently waited for it to work its way down instead of releasing “a cheap iphone.”

      If the 6 stuck around but with a smaller screen, that would distinguish it enough from the 6s. The screen size would me a very effective way to drive more people to the 6s and for those who are starving for a new smaller phone it would be the clear choice.

  15. Radu Tîrsînă - 9 years ago

    I always wanted to say this – I really like the simple, well-put way in which Mark writes, he’s one of the best tech journos out there

  16. modeyabsolom - 9 years ago

    I can understand them keeping the iPhone 6 for another cycle, but not the 6 Plus. I think it would just confuse people and unnesserily complicate the lineup. As its considered to be the top of the model range.

  17. I’m not expecting any new form factors this year, but I’m quietly praying that the iPhone 7 will come out with a “mini” size. 4-inch would do, but a 3.5″ screen would just be magical.

    I still can’t believe that literally every iPhone since the iPhone 4 has been *bigger* than the last…

  18. A. I. Sajib - 9 years ago

    I sincerely hope the 4-inch screen doesn’t go away. It’s just the sweet spot for a mobile device for me.

  19. Patrick Thomas - 9 years ago

    Yeah, big disappointment that there is no 4″ or 3,5″ model coming up.

    Further, they begin to all look like Samsungs, from the roundish shape to the oversized screens. Ugh.

    And worst: all we hear are specs, specs, specs. Steve never talked about specs per se.

    Apple, to watch.

  20. scarant66 - 8 years ago

    can someone please help, is the 5c def the best iphone for rural areas, no stores are selling these anymore, so the only place is online, prices vary so much, the phones seems to be genuine, but the accessories are generic? not sure why this is the case , 16gb are selling from $300, will i be getting the real deal or stay well away from ones online??