Is Apple working on yet another budget iPhone?

A new report from 9to5Mac has suggested that we could be seeing a new, budget iPhone from Apple soon. Of course, we’ve already heard that an “iPhone SE 2/iPhone 9” could be coming soon—an A13-powered budget iPhone 4.7″ with a physical home button to succeed the popular iPhone SE.

Now, evidence from iOS 14 code apparently indicates that another variant of the iPhone 9 (we’ll call it that for the rest of the article) could be coming as well: the iPhone 9 Plus.

This is the first time we’re hearing of a Plus version of the rumoured entry-level iPhone, but it will not be too dissimilar from the rumoured specs of the iPhone 9. We’re expecting the same A13 bionic processor—the same one that powers the latest iPhone 11—although the Plus will feature a 5.5″ display.

Again, there will be a physical home button: probably the same Taptic Engine-enabled one that was first introduced on the iPhone 7. This could also mean that we won’t see Face ID make an appearance on Apple’s new entry-level variants; part of the “budget” element of the device, I suppose.

We don’t have concrete details on when the rumoured entry-level iPhones will be launched, although an announcement could be made by the middle of the year (possibly when iOS 14 is released).

But it’s worth noting that this is all purely speculation at this juncture. iOS 14 code has been used to reveal upcoming stuff (new Apple headphones?), but it’s nothing official. And the snippets of iOS 14 code that “revealed” the new iPhone? 9to5Mac doesn’t actually explain or display the relevant code or information that has led them to this conclusion.

Still, it’s an interesting idea. The iPhone SE certainly filled a niche within the market: iOS fans who don’t want to sell a kidney for a new phone, and want something simple and compact—albeit one with Apple’s latest chipset at the moment, the A13. Not forgetting that, of course, the most “affordable” entry in the current iPhone lineup, the iPhone 11, is obviously not cheap: RM3,399 for a start.

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