The iPhone 5S is rumored to undergo further price cuts and will be available for only $225. The new iPhone SE, short for Special Edition, will be an upgraded version of 5S with metal body and 4-inch screen. The handset is all set to be unveiled on March 21 and will go on sale starting March 25. The price of the handset will be tentatively between $400 and $500, much lower than its predecessor iPhone 6S.
As per Ming-Chi Kuo, KGI securities analyst, by the time Apple announces its new iPhone SE, the iPhone 5S will be further discounted to at least 50 percent its value when it was launched in 2013. By reducing the cost of the iPhone 5S and launching the iPhone SE, Apple is geared towards attracting customer attention towards 4-inch iPhone segment. Apple is projected to ship as many as 37 million units of 4-inch iPhones this year.
According to the analysts, number of people will choose to buy a heavily discounted iPhone 5S than the new iPhone SE. Hence, the company projects to ship as many as 25 million iPhone 5S units and 12 million iPhone SE units by the end of 2016.
The iPhone SE will have the hardware specifications identical to the iPhone 6s, including the A9 chip and NFC for Apple Pay. However, in design, it will be similar to the iPhone 5s with a slight change to the display with curved 2.5-D glass.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone SE at is March 21st event along with a 9.7-inch iPad Pro and also an updated version of Apple Watch. The event is scheduled to happen at the company’s Town Hall Center in California.
