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Cheaper 6.1-inch iPhone could sell 100 million units, says report

A cheaper price on the rumored non-OLED phone could goose sales.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
David Katzmaier

If Apple prices its rumored 6.1-inch iPhone at $700 this year, it could sell like hotcakes. 

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities says a less-expensive iPhone could sell up to 105 million units during the 2018-2019 product cycle. As reported by MacRumors, he predicts the less-expensive 2018 iPhone will have Face ID, but save costs by using an LCD screen instead of an OLED display, as well as a metal case, a single-lens camera, and elimination of the 3D Touch feature. 

Kuo expects the new phone to launch in the second half of 2018 -- Apple's iPhone event is traditionally in September. It will reportedly represent the least expensive member of the lineup, alongside a new 5.8-inch iPhone X and a larger 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus. Kuo predicts the cheaper LCD-based iPhone phone to account for around half of iPhone shipments in 2018 and into 2019.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its earnings report earlier this month Apple said it sold 77.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of 2017, down 1 percent from a year ago and falling short of analysts' predictions. The higher-priced phones in 2017 did help Apple achieve all-time records in quarterly profit and revenue, however.