What to expect at Apple's event next week
Company expected to turn back the clock. With special feature audio.
Company expected to turn back the clock. With special feature audio.
Remember when Apple used to run TV ads saying there was a reason its (then 4-inch display) phones were the size they were – as a thumb appeared, easily reaching all four corners of the screen while being used one handed.
That all went by the wayside as new CEO Tim Cook entered an arms race with Samsung to produce ever-larger phones. Samsung's new S7 Edge has a whopping 5.5-inch display, matching Apple's iPhone 6 S Plus. Unless you grasp one of these new models with both paws, you risk spilling it onto the ground as you type.
Now, persistent industry rumours hold that Apple is going to buck this trend with its Monday event (Tuesday NZT).
Scuttlebutt holds the company will release a 4-inch iPhone.
Don't imagine Mr Cook has suddenly got "thumbable" religion, however.
The new model will be more about replacing the 4-inch iPhone 5s, which has been quietly kept on as a budget model.
The new 4-inch model, possibly to be called the SE or the 6C, is also expected to sport some of the features found in the current 6 series but not all. Touch ID is rumoured to be in but 3D touch out.
It's also possible Apple will drop a standard 3.5-inch jack in favour of a Lightening Port for audio – a move that would render countless millions pairs of earbuds and headphones useless for the new model and which may be copied by future, larger models. We'll find out early next week.
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