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Cheaper iPhones: price cuts expected for this year’s models

The latest report from everyone’s favorite Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, includes some very interesting tidbits about this year’s upcoming iPhones.

Though Apple likes to keep secrets, thanks to a series of leaks the world is pretty confidently expecting three major releases this September: a 5.8-inch successor to the iPhone X, a matching 6.5-inch “plus” version of the iPhone X, and a lower-cost 6.1-inch device lacking some of the fancier components of its siblings.

Additionally, a filing earlier this week suggested that an upgraded version of the 4-inch iPhone SE is likely to drop in the next month or two.

What we learned from this latest report is that the mid-range 6.1-inch device might actually come in two distinct flavors – one with a single SIM card slot, as usual, and one with a dual-SIM setup. This won’t be of much interest to those in the US or UK, but many international markets have been crying out for dual-SIM capabilities and it could help Apple’s market share grow in countries like China.

Perhaps more importantly, we learned that the expected prices for these devices are lower than we’ve come to expect from the iPhone range. Kuo predicts the single-SIM version of the 6.1-inch iPhone will sell for somewhere between $550 and $650, with the dual-SIM version clocking in $100 pricier. Considering the iPhone 8 currently starts at $699, that would be a significant price drop and could help Apple convert more users of mid-tier Android phones. Kuo expects this model to account for the majority of iPhone sales in the 12 months after its launch.

It’s also expected that the iPhone X successor may have a $100 price cut, to start at $899, with the larger version taking up the original $999 price point. That would also be a welcome change and could help Apple’s super-premium models to sell even better next year.

Of course, remember to take these projections with a big old pinch of salt – nothing is definite until Apple’s official announcements later this year!