“It might just be the same old thing,” Don Reisinger writes for Fortune. “The rumors surrounding Apple’s March 21 event have hit a fever pitch. But now there are questions over just how big the company’s announcements will be.”
“Apple will unveil a new iPhone at its March 21 event, but contrary to earlier rumors, the company’s new handset won’t come with an improved design, 9to5Mac reports, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans,” Reisinger writes. “Instead, the Apple-tracking site’s sources say that the new iPhone will come with a design that looks ‘almost exactly the same’ as Apple’s iPhone 5s.”
“If the new iPhone is expected to be a replacement for the iPhone 5s, it will struggle to match pricing,” Reisinger writes. “The iPhone 5s, which comes in 16GB and 32GB versions, starts at $450 off-contract, and is available from just $15 per month for those who want to pay monthly installments.
“Coming close to matching that price could be difficult, if not impossible, for Apple. All reports suggest that the next iPhone will come with updated components, boasting the A9 processor offered in the iPhone 6s, which will push production costs up,” Reisinger writes. “Add that to rumors of a better camera and overall improved performance, and the next iPhone could be a bit more expensive than the iPhone 5s it’s replacing. A new design would add even more to the cost.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The 5s design is already better than the current 6/s/Plus models as it’s less “slippery” with the Sleep/Wake button on top where it belongs.
(Yes, we’re sick and tired of changing the volume when trying to sleep the phone or sleeping it when trying to change the volume.)