iPhone 7 Release Date Will Include 4-Inch Model As Apple Continues To Grow China Market Share

As the iPhone 7 release date this 2015 nears more signs are cropping up that say a third model of the upcoming flagship device is in the works. Apple, in the meantime, is seeing exponential growth in China and could soon become the biggest player in the giant country, a new report said.

It appears that the grand plan for the next iPhone is much about China where Apple is expanding its presence not only in the manufacturing industry but also in the consumer sector. By the end of March 2015, the tech giant has secured around 12 per cent of the nation’s smartphone market and is well on its way for domination this 2015.

DigiTimes reported this week that thanks to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus duo, Apple shipped 13.5 million units to China, behind only to Xiaomi’s 14 million shipments in the first three months of 2015. But the latest data from Strategy Analytics also indicated that Xiaomi is consistently losing steam and could eventually cede the top position to Apple in the second half of the year.

4-inch iPhone

And as China is fast becoming the biggest Apple turf, rumours about the next iPhone continue to emerge from Asia’s biggest economy. The latest word concerns the rumoured 4-inch variant that GSM Dome called on its report as the iPhone 6C. Note, however, that the device’s official name could still be altered in line with the recent revelation made by KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo that the Apple flagship phone this year will be known as the iPhone 7.

GSM Dome reported that preparation for the large-scale production of the 4-inch iPhone is already underway. Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partners have already placed their orders for the Sony camera sensor that will be used on the device, the report said.

No specs were mentioned by the report but the blog site noted that Apple’s iPhone 6C/7C production plan is creating a bottleneck on Android device makers. These manufacturers were unable to secure camera sensor supplies from Sony as Apple apparently had already dried up the Japanese firm’s stock.

Three iPhone models

The news backed up the earlier speculation that Apple is resurrecting the 4-inch screen profile of its flagship phone with most of the features found on the bigger editions, such as Touch ID and Apple Pay, ported to the device. It will be a freshly-minted model and not the repackaged legacy handsets.

Kuo, however, dismissed the likelihood that Apple will roll out a new small-size iPhone this year. It is a plan that is reserved for 2016, the usually accurate Apple watcher maintained. It is likely that the 4-inch models that Apple will sell this 2015 are the iPhone 5S and 5C, Kuo said.

If Kuo’s predictions will prove correct anew, the iPhone 7 release date this 2015 will be bannered by the 4.7-inch regular model and the phablet-size iPhone 7 Plus at 5.5-inch. These devices will get unboxed anytime between September and October this year.

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