Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac:
A report from supply chain sources, via Korean language publication The Bell, suggests that the largest of Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup will be the most popular. Apple is set to announce an ‘iPhone X Plus’, or whatever Apple ends up branding it, with a 6.46-inch OLED screen, packing a ~6.5-inch screen into roughly the same size as the existing 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus.
And:
The Bell report says Apple has ordered more screen panels for the X Plus than any other model. It forecasts 45 million 6.46-inch panels, about 25 million panels for the 5.8-inch iPhone X successor, and 30 million 6.04-inch LCD screens for the new lower-priced flagship.
Not hard to believe the rumors of an iPhone X Plus, also not hard to believe that Apple will go with that name, if they do ship that phone. And not hard to believe it will become the most popular phone.
A 6.5 inch iPhone X Plus would be be a huge upgrade to the iPhone 8 Plus, the form-factor it would be replacing. Better screen, more pixels, what’s not to like? To me, the real question is one of price.
The iPhone X sold very well at its $999 price point last year, but the ‘super cycle’ of upgraders did not materialise in the way some investors expected.
The iPhone 8 starts at $699 and the iPhone 8 Plus at $799. Which leads to an iPhone X Plus entry price of $1099. Is that too high, too soon? We shall see.
Seems to me a super-cycle was possible but was damped by the high cost of the X. If so that’s not at all bad for Apple: higher average selling prices produced a similar revenue boost, without killing demand for the next two years. And it’s not bad for users, either: relatively modest margins on the X mean it’s not the over-priced stereotype some make it out to be: they’re legitimately getting more phone for their money.
Let’s just stipulate that they ship a successor to the X and add an X Plus. They still need something to replace the 8/8+ price point devices. Some people will, yes, spend $999+ for a new phone but some will not and I don’t see Apple abandoning the $699-999 price band altogether.
So, do they:
1) Have 9/9+ devices as well as the higher end models? If so, are these the same bevel etc as the current 8 series?
2) Do they just have one model at, say, $799 and it’s differentiated by not having FaceID and having an LED screen (i.e it’s basically a successor to the 8 series)?
3) Do they actually abandon that price band altogether and risk people either defecting to Android or simply lengthening the upgrade cycle further?
If there is a successor to the X (and of course there will be) would the name no also change in some way too? iPhone Xs Plus? Oh, how about iPhone XX, or iPhone XXX if you want all the bits.