Brazilian developer Guilherme Rambo has unearthed a curious reference—“iPhone xx”—from Apple’s Xcode development app, probably hinting at a cheaper-to-build iPhone 7 model.
It goes without saying that “iPhone xx” isn’t going to be its official marketing name.
Moreover, we can claim with a high degree of certainty that the referenced device probably isn’t a second-generation iPhone SE that a lot of people seem to be holding out hope for.
Guilherme himself noted as much, saying the identifier shouldn’t be confused with a mid-tier device, code-named “N84”, that’s thought to adopt the iPhone X design but with an LCD screen.
9to5Mac speculates that the unusual identifier could be associated with an internal test unit.
Another highly likely possibility: a cheaper-to-build iPhone 7 model.
Exactly this; a cheaper-to-manufacture iPhone 7 perhaps with new component suppliers & factories. I wouldn't read any more into it given the information we have https://t.co/i8oUvJcMZg
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) August 22, 2018
Irish iOS developer Steve Troughton-Smith also thinks this is an iPhone 7-style device.
T500 / iPhone 9,7 – iPhone 7 replacement ("iPhone SE2")
N84 / iPhone 11,1 – 6.1" LCD (notch, Face ID, dual sim option)
D3x / iPhone 11,3 – 5.8" OLED (notch, Face ID)
D3x / iPhone 11,5 – 6.5" OLED (notch, Face ID)— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) August 22, 2018
Indeed, upon closer inspection Rambo has managed to discover a few additional details pointing to a cheaper-to-build iPhone 7 because the device is defined in Xcode as running Apple’s A10 Fusion chip that first appeared in the original iPhone 7 series.
Your take?