iPhone 6 Rumors: Polycarbonate Body To Grace Apple's Smartphone with $330 Retail Price

The next iPhone could see a 2014 release date, but it is the body of the smartphone that's making the rumor mill today.

According to the Japanese blog Macotakara, the successor of the iPhone 5 will feature a thicker package and will be more resilient compared to the current model.

Macotakara noted the next iPhone will have a 4.5-inch liquid-crystal model. In fact, the blog said the smartphone will have a polycarbonate body as seen in the now defunct base-model of the MacBook laptop.

The blog did note the body could be out of carbon but the likelihood seems low compared to a polycarbonate package.

Macotakara's source stated Apple could set a retail price for the low-end iPhone at $330, nearly half the price of the unsubsidized cost of the current iPhone 5.

The news of the iPhone 6's potential polycarbonate body comes as analysts believe the Cupertino-based company will release an "iPhone Mini," coincidentally at the same price Macotakara noted.

"We believe Apple could launch iPhone Mini at $330 (about Rmb2,000), in-line with flagship products in China from Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE and Coolpad," wrote analyst Katy Huberty. "Even in a scenario of low 40 percent gross margin and 1/3 iPhone cannibalization rate (flattening legacy iPhone shipment growth), which we view as conservative, the iPhone Mini adds incremental revenue and gross profit dollars."

Hubery's note is similar to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, who has also stated the lower priced iPhone would launch later this year not 2014. Munster noted a price tag for the iPhone as $199 and $249.

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