iPhone 5S could come in different sizes, colours

The iPhone 5s could arrive in all shapes and sizes -- and colours. If rumours and industry experts are to be believed, the next iPhone will see the first affordable version and first dash of colour for Apple's smart phone.

BGR reports that industry expert Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets reckons there will be "at least" two sizes of iPhone this year -- if not three.

Experts are growing increasingly certain that Apple should diversify in size -- and price -- in order to keep the iPhone doing boffo business. The real opportunity for making moolah is in the developing world and in the middle and lower reaches of the smart phone market, so the logic runs that the iPhone needs to be more affordable to capture that market.

Of course, affordable is relative: White says the new phone will still cost £200 or more.

Word on the street is that the next iPhone will be revealed in June or July and on sale a month later. The new phone is expected to be an incremental upgrade to the current iPhone 5 rather than a whole new phone, if previous updates are anything to go by. A faster processor and improved camera are pretty much a given, but it seems cosmetic changes could be on the cards too: Makotakara reports a source adding to rumours that Apple will dip into the palette of the iPod touch by selling the new phone in three colours.

The iPhone has never come in any colour except black or white, but Apple has adopted colour with the most recent iPod touch, which comes in black, white, blue, yellow and pink.

Apple has always resisted changes to size even as high-end rivals balloon to the 5-inch mark. Only in the latest model did Apple change the size, and even then it was just a slight adjustment to a more video-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio.

Experts say budget-conscious phone fans are putting the squeeze on pricey high-end blowers like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S4.

With price becoming a concern for many customers, and rivals like the S4 nipping at Apple's heels, an incremental upgrade may not be enough for the iPhone to continue its long-standing success -- hence expectations that Apple will mix things up with different sizes and colours.

Is a dash of colour enough to keep the iPhone at the top of the tree? Should Apple make different sizes of iPhone? Tell me your thoughts on the comments or on our Facebook wall.