A leading analyst has revealed that Apple will soon release an 'iPhone mini' with a 4inch screen early next year.
According to the dailymail website, the handset is considered to have a metal casing, but not the 3D Touch display of the recent iPhone 6s and 6s plus.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says it will be accompanied later in the year by an iPhone 7 and 7 plus.
As recorded in his research note, which was seen by Apple Insider, Kuo thinks Apple still has a new 4-inch iPhone in the works that simulates an upgraded iPhone 5s.
As there is still an interest for a 4-inch iPhone, Kuo believes that Apple will upgrade this product line.
Because the iPhone 5s is more well-known than the iPhone 5c, Apple is likely to launch an upgraded iPhone 5s, Kuo added.
He anticipates that Apple will massively develop this new 4-inch iPhone in 1H16 with metal casings.
In order to come up with the recent iOS 9 or next-generation iOS 10 to run very well, Apple may support an A9 chip for this new phone.
Kuo asserts that Apple could sell 20-30 million pieces of the new handset next year.
He also anticipated the iPhone 7 will have a brand-new, faster A10 processor, and the bigger plus handset will also have 1gb of extra ram to make a distinction between the two phones.
Earlier this year Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster informed clients that they're expecting the iPhone 7 to sport an exceptional design from the iPhone 6/6S.
He supposes that it will do away with the home button, instead of counting on the 3D Touch screen introduced in the 6S.
As stated by Kuo, Barrons claimed that as many have guessed, the inclusion of 3D Touch may grant Apple with a way to eradicate the home button on the phone and use the extra space to make the screen larger or make the device smaller.
The decision would mean Apple has to move the Touch ID sensor to elsewhere on the phone.
And if Mr Kuo's claims are accurate, Apple's next-generation handset would be its thinnest yet, but it would still be somewhat thicker than the thinnest phone in the world - Vivo's X5 Max.
