When Apple unveils three new iPhone models during its big press conference next month, we can’t imagine a single person out there will be surprised. Thanks to more than a year’s worth of reporting from Apple insider and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we know that Apple plans to release a new upgraded version of its iPhone X this year, along with two brand new iPhone models that will feature a similar design. The larger “iPhone X Plus” will sport a 6.5-inch OLED display and specs that are similar to the 5.8-inch iPhone X successor, while a new LCD iPhone model will feature a 6.1-inch display and less impressive specs so that Apple can sell it at a much lower price point.
We’ve seen dummy mockups of all three new iPhone models a number of times now, which makes sense since the phones’ schematics leaked from Foxconn’s factory long ago. But now thanks to a new leak, we may have just gotten a look at a real 6.1-inch iPhone for the first time ever.
If Ming-Chi Kuo’s sources are correct — and they almost always are — Apple’s next-generation iPhone lineup will cover the widest range of price points we’ve ever seen. According to his reporting, the new 2018 iPhone phablet with the 6.5-inch OLED display will take over the price points currently occupied by the iPhone X. That means the base model will sell for $999, which the model with more storage will cost $1,149. Then the second-generation iPhone X (we still have no idea what Apple plans to name any of its new iPhone models) will cost $899 for the base model and $1,049 for the storage upgrade.
The current iPhone X will be discontinued, and it’s still unclear whether or not Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus at discounted prices. Normally we would say the company definitely will, but the third new iPhone model could start as low as $649 or $699, so it’s unclear where Apple might price last year’s iPhones.
Whatever the case, the 6.1-inch iPhone’s low price point makes it particularly intriguing. It is believed that many Apple fans passed on the iPhone X because of its sky-high price tag, but this year they’ll be able to get a similar model for much less than $1,000. We do expect some compromises though, and one of them can be seen in the photo that leaked over the weekend.
The photo above was posted to Slashleaks by a user named Mikelagore. According to the user, it shows an actual 6.1-inch iPhone, and what appears to be the ceiling of a factory can be seen in the background. That’s presumably a Foxconn facility, though the authenticity of the photo cannot be confirmed. The new single-lens camera and dual-LED flash certainly look more realistic than they have in dummy photos we’ve seen, however, and this could obviously be the real deal now that we’ve just one month away from Apple’s announcement.
Apple is expected to unveil all three new iPhone models at a press conference in early September, and the phones should be released about two weeks later. There has been some unconfirmed chatter that the 6.1-inch iPhone possibly pictured here might not be released until November due to manufacturing difficulties, but we’ll have to wait until Apple’s big event to know for sure.
