Apple is reportedly preparing to launch its cheapest iPhone in years, in an attempt to regain some of the ground it has lost to Huawei and other rivals.
The new model – an updated version of the iPhone SE – will be released next spring, sources told theNikkei Asian Review.
It will be roughly the same size as the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 that was introduced in 2017, and will feature most of the same components as theiPhone 11, due to be launched next week.
However, while the top-end iPhone 11 models will have OLED screens, the iPhone SE successor will have an LCD display, allowing Apple to offer it at a lower price.
Theoriginal iPhone SE, which launched in 2016, had a starting price of £ 359.
Final pricing for the new model is not yet settled, Nikkei reports, but analysts have speculated it is likely to be somewhere around the £ 450 – 500 mark.
It will probably be targeted primarily at emerging markets including China, where consumers are more price sensitive and Apple has lost ground to rivals such as Samsung, Huawei and Oppo.
However, it could also appeal to customers in the UK who balk at the idea of paying in the region of £ 1, 000 for a new iPhone.
The news comes after Apple reported itsfirst- ever decline in iPhone shipmentslast year, andHuawei overtook Appleto become the world’s second biggest smartphone maker after Samsung.
The US company also has suffered two straight quarters ofshipment and market share dropsthis year, according to IDC data.
(The company is expected to unveil its iPhone 11 family at anevent in Cupertino next week, on September 10.
The new handsets are expected to featuretriple-lens camerasand supporttwo-way wireless charging, meaning they will be able to beam power to other gadgets such asAirPods.
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