Will Apple top last year's iPhone event and issue not just two but three smartphones in a few months' time? Reports have it that the tech juggernaut may be adding a third model into the mix this year, on top of the rumored iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. The third handset, dubbed the iPhone 6C, will reportedly be a 4-inch display affair.
"All of the handsets will come equipped with LTPS panels and supply for the iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 6C will come from Japan Display, Sharp and LG Display while that for the iPhone 6S will come from Japan Display and LG," DigiTimes' sources said. "All of the devices will come equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass."
"All of the devices will come equipped with NFC and fingerprint scanning technologies," the site added.
Considering that DigiTimes has a "very mixed track record," accoridng to CNET, it's possible that the 3-iPhone release may just be hearsay. However, the tech news site does concede that the idea of Apple still mulling over smaller iPhone display sizes in the age of phablets is "really interesting."
The question is - would you go back to having a 4-inch screen iPhone?
"Lots of new phablets are just too big to operate with one hand, and even today's medium-size phones often seem a silly option for the not inconsiderable population of consumers with smaller hands," CNET assessed, in relation to the debate about whether bigger is better.
Meanwhile, Forbes' Gordon Kelly said that the rumors about the 4-inch Apple handset, this time allegedly as a smaller version of the iPhone 6, seem to have two "stupid" flaws.
"It will launch alongside the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in September putting it a generation behind," Kelly said, describing the first flaw.
"It will ditch the aluminium unibody for a plastic chassis," he continued.
"Going down this route makes the same mistake as so many Android handset makers (Sony aside): treating small phones as second class phones. There's no logic to this, phone size is merely personal preference," he added.
Previously, there were reports implying that Apple was going to discontinue its C-model units.
"In 2013, Apple rolled out a lower-cost version of its flagship device, which has a plastic casing available in various colors, including white, green, pink and yellow," Mashable recalled.
In addition, the new models reportedly will all come with Force Touch, which "allow the smartphone's display to know the difference between a short tap and a long press, potentially giving the device a slew of new commands." The said technology was already presented at Apple's March 9 event, as it was one of the features of the new MacBook, Tom's Guide said.
"While the iPhone 6S Plus will include a Samsung A9 processor, the iPhone 6C will come with Samsung's A8 chip," Mashable added.
No release date has been revealed yet, although it's been suspected that the handselts will be announced in September or October this year.
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