Apple's iPhone release is the most-anticipated event for its fans as the Cupertino-based tech titan launches new flagships in September every year. This year isn't going to be any different, but there might be a slight change in the name of the new iPhone this year.
If the latest rumours are to be believed, Apple will not call its 2016 flagship iPhone 7 and would instead go with iPhone 6SE. The information comes from sources in the supply chain in China, according to a German publication, Apfelpage.de. The unnamed sources also revealed that Apple has already produced packages with iPhone 6SE branding, making the name near-official. But there is no confirmation of this, so it is best to take this bit of information with a pinch of salt as of now.
While the name of the upcoming iPhone draws similarity with its cheapest iPhone SE, sources told the publication that the change in the name is due to the minimal design iterations that will be seen this year. For those who were expecting to see a major design overhaul in this year's iPhone are in for some disappointment.
But if we look at Apple's tradition, the iPhones undergo recognizable redesign every two years. The "S" variant of any iPhone stands for internal changes rather than any design makeover. Since the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were launched with internal upgrades as compared to 2014's iPhone 6 series, which brought a massive design change, the 2016 iPhones were supposed to get an outlook change.
There have also been rumours that Apple is reserving the redesign concept for its iPhone until next year, when the company celebrates its 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. On successfully completing a decade, Apple is likely to launch its biggest change ever in the iPhone history.
KGI's Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable source known as the best Apple analyst, predicted a major redesign in the iPhone next year where it will boast an all-glass design instead of the aluminium model. Kuo said the glass design would help Apple differentiate its oft-unique iPhones from the growing lot of smartphones in the market, which are widely using an all-metal design.
Despite the change in the name, Apple is still expected to launch two iPhone models with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes. So far, we have learnt that the upcoming iPhones will ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, feature bigger batteries, double storage and RAM, A10 processor and water-proof certification.
