That is the news from the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who normally has a good feel for the doings of Apple. He recently issued a new investor note claiming that Apple’s 2018 lineup will feature two brand new versions of the iPhone.
One model is said to feature a 6.5-inch OLED display while the second will reportedly boast a 6.1-inch LCD display. Naturally, both devices will feature edge to edge displays and will use Face ID for user authentication as opposed to Touch ID.
However, he warned that Apple might opt to discontinue the current iPhone X entirely if sales remain underwhelming. In fact he is pretty sure that the iPhone X will be ‘end of life’ in the summer of 2018, instead of being retained as a lower-cost option in the following year.
If Kuo’s projection pans out, this will represent a marked shift in Apple’s iPhone sales strategy. Going back nearly a decade, Apple has always positioned older iPhone models around as a wallet-friendly alternative for users who weren’t keen on paying a premium for Apple’s flagship. This means that the 6.1-inch iPhone with an edgeless LCD will become the more affordable version of the current iPhone X. However, it looks like this will not be the case.
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will stick around for at least another generation too.