Paul Morris on December 2, 2015, 1:56 am

4-inch iPhone 6c To Feature Colorful Metal Body Design, Launching February 2016

Speculation pertaining to the possibility of Apple releasing a new 4-inch iPhone 6c will just not go away. A number of industry insiders and well-placed analysts have consistently predicted that the Cupertino-based company will launch a 4-inch iPhone in early 2016 to appease those iOS fans who prefer a more budget option and simply do not want to make the move to a device that is 4.7-inches or bigger at 5.5-inches. Now, a new report, albeit a very difficult to swallow one, is suggesting that the new 4-inch phone or “iPhone 6c”, could hit the market as early as February 2016, packing a vibrant colorful metal design.

This latest information pertaining to the rumored iPhone 6c has apparently been gathered from a number of “Foxconn insiders”, as well as a few other well-placed sources that have knowledge of Apple’s design and manufacturing plans. The sources have confirmed that Apple is indeed working on a new 4-inch alternative to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and that it will be released in early 2016 with a “colorful metal body design”. Apple has tried this before with the iPhone 5c, but with one distance difference; that handset while dressed in vibrant colors, carried a plastic shell, not a metal one like the iPhone 5, and 5s that followed.

It is perhaps something that may actually contradict the story, but the sources are also suggesting that even though the device exists, and that it is penned in for a February 2016 release, Foxconn is yet to receive any official order to mass produce the device. That would be cutting things a little fine if Apple does plan to go ahead with this particular model iPhone. Other than pure speculation and conjecture, there’s very little that we actually know about this budget 4-inch iPhone model. In fact, there’s very little to suggest that it is actually a reality.

image via: iPhone 6c renderings

Reports in the past have suggested that the hardware will ship for between $400 and $500 when it launches, which is slightly less than the $549 needed to purchase the iPhone 5c when it was released back in 2013. There’s also a suggestion that Apple will integrate its A8 chip into the handset, as well as an improved FaceTime HD camera for video-calling and WiFi 802.11ac with Bluetooth 4.1 for improved data connectivity and wireless transfer. Of course, there’s also been some weight thrown behind the existence of the device by prominent analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who suggests that a launch could happen at any point in early 2016.

We’re not thrown by the suggestion of the colorful metal exteriors of this purported device, but something tells us it does exist.

(Source: TechWeb [Google Translate])