Has Apple realized that 3D Touch may be a gimmicky feature after all?
Acclaimed KGI Securities’ analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a note distributed to clients Tuesday morning, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, that the upcoming 6.1-inch iPhone model will not feature 3D Touch, a costly pressure-sensing layer found in the display assembly which lets you apply pressure to the screen for shortcuts like Peek, Pop and more.
The phone will reportedly come outfitted with an LCD screen measuring 6.1 inches diagonally which is being described as covering nearly the entire front-face of the device. Thanks to its iPhone X-esque design, the LCD iPhone will come with a notch at the top that will house a TrueDepth camera with Face ID, Animoji, Portrait Lighting and other depth-sensing features.
Rather than adopt iPhone X’s stacked logic board and an L-shaped battery pack, it should use a non-stacked logic board and rectangular battery pack, like the iPhone 8 series.
Other predicted features include three gigabytes of RAM, a single-lens camera out the back and an aluminum frame instead of the more expensive and prettier stainless steel band. It should be priced between $700 and $800 in the United States, slightly up from the analyst’s previous $650 to $750 estimate, and account for half of total iPhone shipments in 2018.
As for the upcoming new OLED models—namely the successor to the current 5.8-inch iPhone X and a new Plus-sized device with a massive 6.5-inch OLED screen—those phones will use four gigabytes of RAM, according to Kuo.
The analyst has projected iPhone shipments between 80 million and 90 million units during the second half of the year, up from 75 to 80 million during the second half of 2017.
To avoid any shipping delays this year, Apple will probably kick off a new iPhone model certifications earlier than it did last year, the revered analyst wrote.
In his previous note, Kuo predicted that the Cupertino tech giant will stop making iPhone X altogether thanks to a trio of new models coming down the pike this September.
Would you be interested in a $700-$800 LCD iPhone without 3D Touch?
And is this possible removal of 3D Touch from the phone a design compromise required to achieve a lower price point or a sign of things to come, do you think?
Leave your comment below.