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China Mobile roadmap reportedly claims 4-inch ‘Apple iPhone 7c’ coming in April 2016

According to Chinese website ‘MyDrivers’, China Mobile laid out its product roadmap for 2016 and included mentions of a new Apple product. As shown from the photo above, in April 2016 China Mobile is expecting to launch the ‘iPhone 7c’. This seems to be the 4 inch iPhone device that has been rumored for several months, although the rumor mill moniker has generally settled on it being called the iPhone 6c. MICGadget reported that Apple’s new phone would be called the iPhone 7c, matching this report, earlier in the month however.

The validity of the image could not be independently verified but its just another 4-inch iPhone rumor to add to the mound with many sources now claiming Apple will launch a new iPhone model early next year. The true iPhone 6s successor, dubbed the iPhone 7, is still expected at the normal launch time in September 2016.

9to5Mac has already reported that Apple is planning a March event for Apple Watch 2. It is possible that the new 4-inch iPhone could  also be unveiled at the same event. In terms of hardware components, the iPhone 7c is expected to include iPhone 6s hardware internals with an appearance similar to the iPhone 5s, crucially retaining the 4 inch display and smaller total chassis. The new 4 inch phone is expected to be targeted at a slightly cheaper price point than Apple’s high end iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus … but also appeal to those who were put off by the larger screens first introduced with the iPhone 6.

If the timing is accurate, the iPhone 7c would be Apple’s ‘new phone’ for about six months when the flagship iPhone 7 debuts in fall 2016. Somewhat confusingly, these reports seem to be claiming that Apple will launch an ‘iPhone 7c’ before the actual ‘iPhone 7’. This is why many are backing the iPhone 6c name, as the 4 inch iPhone would essentially be an iPhone 6s with a smaller screen.

Are you excited for the return of the 4 inch iPhone?

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Comments

  1. Steve Grenier - 8 years ago

    Seems strange to launch the “iPhone 7C” as a cheaper alternative 6 months before the premium “iPhone 7” is released.. iPhone 6C makes more sense.

    • Robert - 8 years ago

      Why think of it as a cheaper alternative? Apple probably want to swash the notion that it is a ‘budget’ product. It might be cheaper, but only because it has a smaller screen.

      In my mind a smaller phone is not a ‘budget’ phone. It is genuinely better because it is a sensible size that will be easier to hold and carry in your pocket.

      At this point it is unlikely that anyone outside Apple’s executive team knows the name.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      I don’t think it will have “c” in the name at all. People just go with the last know naming trend but calling it c doesn’t even match that trend since it’s not the same size as the device it’s numbered after. If it’s a shrunk down version of another phone it will be called “mini” like the ipad mini which took ipad 2 internals and shrunk em down or called something else.

      But seriosuly it will only be cheaper because of screen size and base starting capacity. People won’t pay for something smaller here because they think bigger is worth more even though shrinking tech is harder. I could see this model starting at 16gb but being the same price as the larger phones if you bumped the storage up. The larger phones might get more base storage now – Like how the ipad pro starts at 32 but the ipad air starts at 16

    • Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 8 years ago

      The 6C is probably going to be designed to go after the markets that simply can’t afford a higher priced model. I think the 6C will be heavily marketed and sold more in places like India. I personally think they should only make the top end flagship products with the more expensive case material, and then make the 2nd and 3rd tier models in polycarb so they can lower the price for the markets that can’t afford the flagship models. They have to figure out how to make/sell a product with good margins that can go against the Android models that captures the <$450 market.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

        The 6C is probably going to be designed to go after the markets that simply can’t afford a higher priced model.

        If they wanted to do that, why go through the work to shrink the technology? They can either slash prices on older models (like they just did) or they could have kept the 6 line the same size and turned it plasic (as you would have prefered but they didn’t do). Since that didn’t happen when the 6s came out and that this device is 4-inches seems like a clear indicator it’s not going to be marketed anything like the 5c. The 5c was nearly identical to the old iphone 5 model but plastic – shrinking down the 6/6s tech to be in a smaller form factor would be more difficult/costly. It will likely be marketed simply as a new smaller phone option for the people who want it – Just like the ipad mini. And like the mini, it could even have a body that looks new in some way and introduces things that the iphone 7 has later (like how the ipad air looked just like a big ipad mini). Which might explain why they reference the iPhone 7 and not the iPhone 6.

        I personally think they should only make the top end flagship products with the more expensive case material, and then make the 2nd and 3rd tier models in polycarb so they can lower the price for the markets that can’t afford the flagship models.

        Apple used to have plastic macs too. Now look at the line. Their new strategy, starting with when the macbook air replaced the pastic macbook, is to make all of their products “high end” but to span price tiers by have different and appealing tradeoffs across the lines. The retina macbook is less capable and cheaper but it’s super thin and light. The macbook pro is more capable and expensive but it’s thicker and heavier. I feel like this kind of thing only works in American like markets though. I imagine the 6s plus has much more value to someone in an emerging market than a small phone would becasue they’d use it to replace multiple devices. It’s not just a phone. It’s their phone, camera, and computer. The small iphone would probably not be a big seller in emerging markets even if it was pretty cheap since it’d make a bad computer by way of size.

        They have to figure out how to make/sell a product with good margins that can go against the Android models that captures the <$450 market.

        Not doing that has worked our really well for them – even in China where everyone said they had to have a cheap phone (the 5c didn’t even sell well there).

      • capdorf - 8 years ago

        Price isn’t my problem.. size an abilities are.

  2. just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

    If it is 299-349$ or 15$ a month via their iPhone Upgrade Plan, absolutely excited but any more than that, I’m just going to wait until it drops to that level in 3-4 years as I’m not in any rush to replace my iPhone 5S until it dies.

    I bought a Blu device that’s 5.2″ for 100$ to replace a dying iPhone 4S and it is comparable to iPhone 5S IMO. I think as I get older, the less amount of apps I care about that’s available on Android, the more likely I’d switch to Android.

  3. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

    Excited? I’m ecstatic! I’ve only been clamoring for this since the iphone 6 was still being rumored.

    Not having to wait till the next September is very welcome. I also appreciate that the article called it the new “4-inch model” at one point : ]

    whatever it is or is called, it’s good news. I just need to manage my expectations. I have way too much hope for this thing.

  4. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    As long as I can always keep my perfect 4.7 screen for at least a couple more iterations I don’t care what they do.

  5. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    Who and where does Apple want to sale this 4″ model to? In China, Japan,Korea the 4.7″ and 5.7″ is much preferred because increased space for handwriting. I don’t see who the target would been in the US or other western countries.

    I don’t see the point of 5 iPhone models. If Apple didn’t keep the previous generation devices the 4″ model might make since, but Apple could go to 6 models being for sale with the next update after the 7c release. By April 2017 couch have 6s, 6s plus, 7, 7 plus,7c and whatever the next 7c is called.

    When Apple narrows the bezel you will have have a 4.7″ model close to the physical size of the 5 and 5s. If Apple is releasing the 7c then I don’t think the 7 will feature a smaller bezels or ditch the home button. I don’t see the point of a 4″ phone at all when the dimensions of 4.7″ model get shorter and narrower.

    • Jake Becker - 8 years ago

      I’d agree, but I still see people rocking 4S and 5 iPhones…the demand for the smaller size has never gone away. We’ve got iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, and there will probably be 3 sizes active as well for a while.

    • akibbe02 - 8 years ago

      “When” Apple narrows the bezel? All four iPhone sizes to date have had the same screen-to-bezel proportions (unlike their iPads). It seems clear to me that, compared to all other phones, Apple considers the large, symmetrical top and bottom bezels unique to the iPhone’s design—which is their Achilles’ heel. There are Android phones, like the first-gen Nexus 5, that are vastly more comfortable in the pocket and hand due to their thin bezels, which is what made the 6S Plus a nonstarter, compelling me to return it after the first week.

      *If* Apple narrows the bezel, your argument is valid, but history suggests otherwise.

  6. Joseph Frye - 8 years ago

    Why does Apple insist on always putting previous generation technology into its smaller version devices? Maybe a customer just prefers to have a smaller device, but still have the latest technology.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

      what?

      That’s like saying “why isn’t the macbook as powerful as the macbook pro”. It’s just not possible. When you have more space you can do more – like how the 6s+ has more battery life and a better camera.

      It’s why one size fits all iphones doesn’t work anymore and I want this device. In order to keep up with their goals for the iphone apple had to keep getting bigger starting with the iphone 5. Now they might finally diverge the line in a way where one path keeps on the big and powerful road while the other starts to go down a different path.

    • Doug Aalseth - 8 years ago

      I think part of it is so you have tradeoffs. You can pay for the top of the line big phone or pay less and get a smaller one with less power. It helps to differentiate the models. It’s one of the reasons the iPhone6+ has a better camera, so it’s just that little bit better that the 6. If you could get MacBook Pro hardware in a MacBook Air case, who would buy the Pro. If you could get the Apple Pencil in the iPad Mini, a lot of Pro sales would be lost, Apple has been doing the Good/Better/Best thing in all of there product lines for years.

      • capdorf - 8 years ago

        The difference in screen size would differentiate the phones, but not the mac

  7. lkrupp215 - 8 years ago

    According to the malcontents, perpetual whiners, iHaters, and general naysayers who infest 9 to 5 Mac on a daily basis NOBODY wants a small phone anymore. Big is in, little is out. Samsung was going to win the war with their big screens. Apple was Doomed™

    Now all of a sudden Apple is Doomed™ again because it doesn’t have a small screen model. Gimme a break.

  8. usmansaghir - 8 years ago

    This is a yearly rumour that never comes to light. I do think Apple will launch Apple watch 2 around March or April. But hard to see iphone 6c.

  9. Stetson - 8 years ago

    Websites talk about iPhone rumor.

    Company puts most up-to-date iPhone rumor on a future roadmap as a best-guess of where things will go.

    Same websites post roadmap as further evidence of original rumor.

  10. capdorf - 8 years ago

    It can’t come too soon for me. My 4s is getting to the end of it’s life and I don’t want huge. And I don’t care what it’s called, so long as it’s not old technology and is readily updatable for a reasonable number of years.

    • rettun1 - 8 years ago

      If “old tech” means “not the newest”, you’re gonna be disappointed.

  11. Jonathan Brusco - 8 years ago

    I don’t care what its called. A low price alternative will be very successful in China and India.

  12. Gagik Stepanyan - 8 years ago

    Of course excited! I never believed that Apple could forget the form factor it has been using since the beginning! Actually, until last year it was the only form factor Apple had been using. (I mean “small” in common, not 3.5 or 4 inch individually). Many people were saying that it is possible for Apple to make only bigger model from now, but it is illogical.

    It doesn’t change anything or make a role, but I personally hate the power button on the right! And I hate the “Reachability” function! Those are the most non-Apple things that happened to iPhone ever! First making the phone uncomfortable, and then bringing an option to live with it easier, not solving the problem.
    It is ok, if you make the classic model, and add a bigger model as an option. But it is a nonsense to stop making the classic model and sell only the big one. In fact, it was the classic model that had been breaking records all the years before 2014. There was no big model that was successful and a worse-selling 3.5/4 inch that was like a “smaller option” outsider. It was the “now small – then normal” iPhone that is know among people from 2007 as an iPhone. It is the “now small – then normal” iPhone that was sold about 500 million times. So it is not an unpopular “sub-model”, that needed to be ended.

    Now imagine that some car making company was selling a sedan model for years and it was an iconic car and that exact car made all the records for that car maker. And now imagine that this car maker announced that it is now making a small SUV and large SUV models only and that sedans are behind. What would you think about that car maker? What if you don’t like sedans? Should people now call you “a short legs one” or you are just not a SUV fan? Should people now call you “a small hands one” or you are just not a big phone fan?

  13. Kevin Labranche - 8 years ago

    Yeah…Small phones again!!!
    I hate every phone over 5 inches…

  14. Alan Camp - 8 years ago

    With the concept that to have an Apple Watch, you must also have an iPhone, it makes sense that the iPhone gets smaller. Especially since the Apple Watch is able to handle more of the processing. With Apple moving toward the electronic sim card in all devices, it makes a cellular connected Apple Watch a possibility in the near future, along with being a more stand alone product. Still needing an iPhone of some sort for many other app functions, the iPhone can now be smaller primarily for it’s larger than Apple Watch screen functionality when needed

    I went from a 4S to the 6 and it’s really bigger than I would like. Waiting for Watch 2 to make that purchase with hopefully at least stand alone wifi connectivity. But as Apple does, except to see the option for Wifi and Wifi + Cellular.

  15. Am I excited about the return of the 4 inch iPhone? Yes…yes I am.

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Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.