Apple Reportedly Working On A Budget iPhone With iPhone 8 Design

In recent times, Apple has experienced a slightly rough time with decreasing sales worldwide. To gain more customers, the company is reportedly preparing for the launch of a more affordable iPhone next year, as per a new report. It will help the brand compete with rival Huawei and other players. This report is also similar to the previous report suggesting that the upcoming iPhone will sport the iPhone 8’s design. When released, it could be the first budget iPhone from Apple to debut after the iPhone SE unveiled three years ago for $399 (roughly Rs. 39,990). Although the official model name has not been announced, a report from Nikkei suggested the phone could arrive as the successor to the iPhone SE.

The move comes in the time when the company announced the first-ever decline in the shipments of iPhone last year. Apple reportedly shipped more than 30 million iPhone SE units in 2016 and 10 million units in the period of 2017-2018, as per the report citing Yuanta Investment Consulting. A budget iPhone with smaller screen can help the company gain more revenue in the low-cost segment, which is necessary as consumers tend to keep their devices for longer time due to increasing costs and improving tech.

The new budget iPhone is tipped to flaunt a 4.7-inch display like the iPhone 8 launched in 2017. Additionally, it also comes with same components as iPhones 2019, but will feature a budget liquid crystal screen to reduce the cost. As the alleged launch is still far away, we still should stay tuned for more information in the coming time.

GF Securities’ tech analyst Jeff Pu said:

This year’s iPhones’ first production run is tipped to be about 10% less than the one of 80-85 million during the same period in 2018. However, should there be enough demand, the company could increase orders anytime. Also, Apple is lagging behind in introducing a 5G device, which is expected to arrive in late 2020.