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My Expectations for this Fall's iPhone Lineup

Posted by Matt Birchler
— 1 min read

We're likely less than one month out from Apple's September event, and it's about that time when people start to make their predictions for what the new iPhone lineup will be. Some of the guesses out there are a little, well, out there. There are many, many crazy guesses and even the top names in Apple leaks don't agree on what to expect. I find its best not to overthink Apple's product lines, so here's what I expect Apple's iPhone lineup will look like next month.

  • iPhone 6S Plus 32GB - $299 ($749)
  • iPhone 6S 32GB - $199 ($649)
  • iPhone 6 16GB - $99 ($499)
  • iPhone 5C 16GB - Free ($449)

The 6S line starts at 32GB

Some have mentioned that the iPhone 6 is still a great phone, and convincing people to buy an even more expensive phone will be a challenge. It's true that the iPhone 6 is still fantastic, but the one thing that is definitely not fantastic is the amount of storage in the entry-level model.

Most people buy the cheapest model, and doubling their storage would be a benefit felt by everyone shopping for an iPhone.

iPhone 6 Plus is gone

I think Apple sees the 6 Plus as their extra-premium line and will keep it at the top of the pricing matrix. I also think there is an appeal to keeping the clean pricing model where no two phones cost the same ("starting at" prices, at least).

iPhone 5C sticks around (sort of)

This is my most out-there guess, but I do think that the 5C line will stay in the lineup, but its internals will be updated with parts comparable to the 5S. If they were making a larger plastic phone we would have seen part leaks by now, so my guess is that they're using the same casing and simply updating the components.

Apple could go the more predictable route and just keep making the 5S for another year, but I could see them wanting to keep the C line around. Apple will never tell us exact numbers, but the 5C seems to have sold quite well. People love the colors and the feel right now, and I think it would be an unfortunate loss if the 5C simply disappeared from the lineup.