Apple has invited media parties to a press event for next Monday, and speculation is mounting over whether the company will launch a new iPhone, and what kind of an iPhone it’s going to be.
With respect to the former question, there’s a wide consensus that, alongside a new version of the iPad tablet, Apple is indeed going to launch a new smartphone model, as KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted at the start of this year. And most expect the device to be a more affordable, smaller-scale iPhone than the iPhone 6 (and the 6+), more along the lines of the iPhone 5s. The anticipated name of the smartphone is the ‘iPhone 5 SE’ (for ‘Special Edition’).
Little is known about the device’s technical specifications – Mirror Online predicts a 12MP camera and an A9 processor, while Mashable expects it to maintain the 5s’s 8MP camera and A8 chip. What does seem likely is Apple Pay support, given Apple’s presumptive desire to promote the mPayment platform as it competes with growing rivals. As for design, most expect a screen close to 4″ in size, and at least one new (pink) case model.
Meanwhile, rumor has it that Samsung is developing a smaller version of its Galaxy S7 smartphone, coming in at 4.6″ and using the same processor technology as Samsung’s S7 or S7 Edge devices. As usual, Apple is being kept on its toes by a rival eager to keep in step.
Sources: Mirror Online, Mashable, ZDNet
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