The iPhone 6 on release date will surely deliver a bigger screen but still short of becoming a phablet at 4.7-inch, bearing too the same price points seen in the iPhone 5S with considerable bumps in killer specs and features.

According to MacRumors, the largest that the next iPhone screen will go is 4.7-inch or short of the maximum 5.7-inch contained in previous reports. The handset is also built in a "much lighter frame," than the earlier models, which should as among the fresh killer specs and features packed with the iPhone 5S replacement.

Another incredible addition is a thinner side view type LED that chops off considerable millimetres from that of the 5S, said the same report that cited insiders within Apple's supply chain as sources.

The development, however, contradicts earlier assertions that Apple's iPhone 6 release plans will come in two instalments - one as early as June 2014 and likely sporting a phablet-size display panel.

The second version is set for a September rollout this year at the earliest and the screen profile will reflect that of the iPhone 5S' 4-inch. In an earlier report, it was hinted that the next iPhone iteration will keep the current display attributes as Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed to the likelihood.

Cook seemed to imply that Apple has yet to complete a reliable display technology that would support an iOS phablet anytime soon. Note that in previous interviews, the Apple chief has asserted that prior to going phablet, the iPhone must first satisfy the one-hand use standard.

Meanwhile, as reports continue to pour in that the global smartphone market is reaching a saturation point and that the trend is tilting towards the more affordable devices, putting more pressure for Apple to offer low-cost iPhones or cut down the handsets' retail price, the tech giant appears adamant to stay the course on its premium pricing model.

More possibly, the iPhone 6 will offer nearly the same price mark of the iPhone 5S, which according to Apple Insider can go as high as $650 for the unlocked 16GB variant.

This despite the latest IDC report that by the end of December 2013 quarter, Apple has only shipped out 51 million iPhones in the three-month span while Android makers were able to push out more than 226 million units.

But Apple is unlikely to be persuaded by the same IDC figures to build 'junk smartphones' (as Cook characterises entry-level phones) nor to lower the price points of the next iPhone. The tech titan is known to fiercely guard its profit margins, hence the unwillingness to go really cheap.

Instead, the company would deal with the issue differently by securing tie ups with distributors in emerging markets, which explains the iPhone maker's increasing presence in China and the growing partnership with China Mobile, Apple Insider said in a separate report.

Other markets or new destinations are in sight, in which Apple plans to announce its arrival by tapping local partners and providing discounts to lure more iPhone buyers, said the same report.

One indicator of this is the recent resumption of volume iPhone 4 production and its reinjection to India, Brazil and Indonesia at an average price of $270. For the time being, this move represents Apple's low-cost device efforts.

Though hacking down the iPhone 5S and 5C prices after the iPhone 6 debut cannot be discounted entirely as the practice is standard to Apple each time it introduces new devices.

So by the time of the iPhone 6 release date, the whole iPhone line up is pretty much riding the same boat - same price points and the expected bump ups in killer specs and features. Plus the bonus of having cheaper models, coming in the form of the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5C and even the iPhone 5S.