Rumor suggests that Apple's 5.8" OLED iPhone X replacement model in 2018 will sell for under US$1,000
Apple plans to launch a new 5.85-inch OLED iPhone this year as an upgrade to the existing iPhone X, but the vendor has managed to reduce the new device's initial manufacturing bill of materials (MBOM) to a level much lower than that of its present flagship model.
The information from Apple's upstream supply chain has indicating that the new device's MBOM will be more than 10% lower than that for iPhone X. He added that the MBOM of the iPhone X was more than US$400 in 2017.
Apple has recently determined the direction for its next-generation iPhone lineup. It will consist of two OLED-based iPhone models at 5.85" and 6.45" and a single LCD model at 6.1". Thanks to the cost reduction, Apple may position the new 5.85-inch device as the cheapest model of all three next-generation iPhone models.
Digitimes Research senior analyst Luke Lin has learned that another project to develop a 5.85-inch LCD iPhone has been suspended. Apple previously planned to release the LCD version instead of the OLED model in the 5.8-inch segment due to MBOM concerns. Apple's decision hinged on the cost of the OLED panels.
For the new lineup, Lin believes the 5.85-inch OLED iPhone may be the cheapest of the three new devices, as some of the smartphone's recent engineering samples have adopted components with lower-level specifications or lower capacities than those of the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone with LPDDR memory being one of the major differences.
While the iPhone X was the best selling smartphone over the holiday quarter, the US$1,000 iPhone X price tag is slowing sales in the current quarter accoring to some.
Apple will always have a core community that won't not blink at paying more for the latest iPhone model. Apple makes a premium smartphone for a premium audience. Yet there's no denying that the high price tag of the iPhone X pushed many Apple fans into upgrading to lower end models such as the iPhone 6 and 7.
Today's rumor still opens the door for a higher priced 6.45" OLED iPhone for Q4 while allowing more iPhone upgraders to reach for the 5.85" OLED iPhone model that will sell for under $1,000 price point.
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