The iPhone 9 is dead: long live the iPhone XC! Rumors purporting to Apple’s new line-up of phones set to be unveiled on September 12 have started to heat up, and the latest suggests a more believable name for the company’s next entry-level handset.
Apple has been known to stick with naming conventions with the phone series for over 10 years now, but there are times when things are spiced up to keep people on their toes and refresh the status-quo. According to yet another reported leak, this time from the Chinese version of the phone’s impending reveal, Apple could be returning to a name it used once and abandoned.
iPhone XC: Everything We Know
Back in the iPhone 5 days, Apple set its sights on the lower end of the smartphone market by releasing the iPhone 5C; a more budget-friendly smartphone that became synonymous with kids in next to no time. The device kept costs low with last year’s hardware in a chassis comprised of plastic. More durable than the ongoing trend of glass-heavy iPhones and cheap enough for parents to buy for their kids, it came in a variety of colors that ultimately appeared more fashionable for a younger audience. It wasn’t explicitly sold as a “phone for kids”, but it made a splash.
Now, many years after the iPhone 5’s heyday, Apple looks set to revive the C brand with a cheaper version of last year’s iPhone X. Older rumors suggested an iPhone 9 would crop up to fill the spot of the iPhone 8 while the iPhone X upgraded to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus, but it looks as if Apple will continue to ride the X branding that stood out last year with a phone that will likely sport very similar internals to last year’s iPhone X while swapping out the glass body for cheaper materials.
Another leak, including images from Twitter user Ben Geskin, show the suspected iPhone XC sporting a more rounded body, a single rear camera, and three colors (red, white, and blue). The images don’t show to screen, but lists the phone as a 6.1 inch LCD device. This could suggest a notched display similar to the 5.8 inch display seen on the original iPhone X with the last .3 inches being the chassis.
There’s every chance this could mean next to nothing once the Apple event rolls around on September 12, but this sounds far more plausible than an iPhone 9 right now.
