We’re still a long way off from the release of Apple’s 2020 iPhone lineup, but that doesn’t mean the iPhone-maker’s plans for next year aren’t already coming into focus — and, if the top Apple insider in the world is right with his latest predictions, it seems that 2020 (and beyond) is shaping up to mark the start of a significant new chapter for Apple’s most important product.
Following up on the news we reported here, about Apple planning to switch up its iPhone releases to both a spring and fall schedule (instead of the usual once-a-year release) after next year’s releases, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with TF International Securities is out with a new report today with another revealing bit of insight about Apple’s plans for 2020. If he’s right, five new iPhone models are in store for us next year.
His latest research note, obtained by MacRumors, outlines his prediction as follows:
- The 2020 iPhone releases would include an “iPhone SE 2” with a 4.7-inch display in the first half of 2020.
- Next up would be higher-end releases, including a 5.4-inch iPhone
- plus two 6.1-inch iPhones, one of which would be the main iPhone 12
- and then one 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max in the second half of 2020.
Per Kuo’s report, the four higher-end variants would include a Qualcomm X55 modem and support 5G connectivity.
All this would be in-line with the expectation that 2020/2021 will bring some major design changes to the iPhone, with rumors also predicting that at least two of those models we mentioned above will sport OLED displays. As Macrumors also noted separately this week, the rumored 4.7-inch iPhone would be the smallest released by Apple since the 4.7-inch iPhone 8, while the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max model would be Apple’s largest to-date.
With so many models coming next year, no wonder analyst Samik Chatterjee, as we noted in our earlier piece in recent days, is forecasting two separate launch releases starting in 2021 — one in the first half of the year, and another in the second. According to Chatterjee, this new timing could help Apple limit its vulnerability to “product cycle missteps.” In other words, if Apple gets something majorly wrong with a future release, it’s got more of an opportunity to change up its new phone design or make other tweaks sooner instead of having to wait a whole other year for the next model to launch.
