The move looks so "back to the future" but Apple will release a 4-inch iPhone in 2016 along with its newer and much anticipated iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus featuring advanced OLED displays.

The plan to move back to four inches seems to have been prompted by the success of the old iPhone 5s, and some reports say the upcoming 4-inch iPhone is simply an upgraded iPhone 5s. The upgrade in this case means an A9 chip in the four incher to help boost performance of iOS 9 or the next generation iOS 10 running at its core.

The existence of the four incher gained credence following reports from KGI Securities analyst and known leaker Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple does plan to release a 4-inch iPhone. Apple might amass massive profits from sales of 20 to 30 million units of the 4-inch handset, said Kuo.

The popularity of iPhone 5s over iPhone 5C seems to have inspired Apple to conceive a revamped version of the 5s in the disguise of a 4-inch iPhone. The 4-inch iPhone will likely not have a pressure sensitive 3D touch feature.

Speculation regarding the small iPhone started this year, driven by the desire of many Apple fans to have a small-sized iPhone packed with the latest tech. Apple is expected to launch mass production of the new, metal encased smartphone in the first half of 2016, reports Mac Rumours.

Kuo’s predictions for launch of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, 12-inch MacBook eventually came true, and he was also right about the hardware to be used in the iPhone 6s, reported The Verge.

Kuo foresees a better A9 chipset in both iPhone 7 variants, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, with the Plus getting 3 GB of RAM. There’s also word that Hon Hai Precision Industry (otherwise known as Foxconn) will be the first to produce 4-inch iPhone.

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