“The iPhone 7 Plus proved a success in the market thanks to a shift in customer preferences toward larger-screen devices, as well as the inclusion of a dual-lens camera system that was excluded from the standard iPhone 7,” Ashraf Eassa writes for The Motley Fool. “During Apple’s most recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook commented on the sales velocity of the iPhone 8 Plus, which went on sale back in September, saying that it had ‘gotten off to the fastest start of any Plus model.'”
“So it may be surprising when I predict that the iPhone 8 Plus will be discontinued when Apple introduces its new iPhones in 2018,” Eassa writes. “Next year, Apple is set to launch an iPhone with a 6.1-inch liquid crystal display, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The device is expected to have minimal bezels, just as today’s iPhone X does, and is also expected to feature Apple’s 3D sensing TrueDepth camera to allow for features such as Face ID and Animoji.”
“This device is expected to serve as a lower-cost alternative to next year’s iPhone X series of smartphones,” Eassa writes. “Kuo also expects such a device to start at between $649 and $749. Let’s suppose Apple introduces such a device at $699, or the midpoint of Kuo’s expectations. Where would that leave this year’s iPhone 8 Plus, which currently starts at $799? …Although I expect the iPhone 8 Plus to be discontinued, the iPhone 8 could remain. The device currently starts at $699, so after the customary $100 discount, it’d start at $599 — solidly below where the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone would start.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The iPhone X marks the spot – the inflection point – where major changes such as the removal of the Home button and the introduction of Face ID will render the models which sport Home buttons “obsolete” faster than we’ve seen in the past, especially at the higher end of the iPhone range. After nearly 3 weeks with our iPhone X units, we’d never willingly go back to an iPhone with a Home button. We can’t wait until our iPad shed them, too.
SEE ALSO:
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple working on 6.5-inch ‘iPhone X Plus’ for late 2018 launch – November 13, 2017
Apple may use Full Active LCD over OLED to create next-gen bezel-less iPhones – September 28, 2017
I’m ready for a homeless iPad to appear. But first, I’d love to see my X gestures appear across all IOS devices.
I see the iPad Pro as a very different device with multi-tasking and Mac like dock – and would therefore not necessarily want iPhone X gestures beyond the swipe up to unlock
Apple announces the discontinuation of the iPh 8 Plus, may be delayed.
Has Apple thought of simply having the “Home” button to the right side of the iPhone that would double as a Siri button when held down?
the add an “off” button above it about the size of the mute switch…
it allows a kind of Apple Watch interaction… while allowing a larger display that they could offer using the cheaper LCD versus OLED.
*then*
That didn’t take long.
Not likely. Timmy will be selling a Special Edition Plus model for 4 years to come. Probably about the time Apple discontinues Macs with 5400 rpm disc drives, or Thunderbolt 2. That’s how he rolls.
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