Reliable analyst who have been calling for a refresh to the now discontinued four-inch iPhone 5c may have gotten one detail wrong: it sounds like the device, expected to be branded under the ‘iPhone 6c’ moniker, will run Apple’s A8 processor used in last year’s iPhone 6 rather than the latest A9 chip powering the new iPhone 6s.
That’s what Japanese blog Macotakara, which has a pretty good track record when it comes to Apple leaks, said this morning citing “credible sources” familiar with the device.
If the blog is right, hen the iPhone 6c most likely won’t have two gigabytes of RAM because the previous-generation A8 chip is outfitted with 1GB of RAM.
Other iPhone 6c specs reportedly include three times faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking, power-friendlier Bluetooth 4.1, an improved FaceTime high-definition camera on the front and a f/2.2 aperture for the rear iSight camera.
By comparison, the iPhone 5s runs Apple’s A7 processor (Apple’s first mobile chip with 64-bit architecture) and uses slower 802.11n Wi-Fi networking and Bluetooth 4.0.
According to Macotakara, the device is code-named ‘iPhone 5s Mark II’ which seemingly confirms KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s claim that the iPhone 6c will actually “resemble an upgraded iPhone 5s”.
“Because the iPhone 5s is more popular than the iPhone 5c, we think Apple is likely to launch an upgraded iPhone 5s,” the analyst wrote in a note to clients. Kuo also said the device will have Touch ID, a metal chassis with iPhone 5s-style design but not 3D Touch, which remains an iPhone 6s-exclusive.
Despite media reports, the iPhone 5c actually sold well across many markets, helping boost Apple’s numbers.
The company’s legendary efficiency in managing its vast network of component suppliers in Asia should come into play with the iPhone 6c, which looks like it’ll reuse many of the same parts found in the revamped sixth-generation iPod touch this summer.
Source: Macotakara (Google Translate)