Forget iPhone X, Apple may introduce three new smartphones this year

Apple is reportedly gearing up to introduce three new iPhones this year, and one of them will be more popular than the others, a top analyst with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities has said.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities when it comes to Apple, the Cupertino-headquartered giant will aim to sell 100 million units of "a 6.1-inch iPhone it's planning to release this year".
 

"The 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will apparently resemble the iPhoneX with a similar full-screen design, but at a more accessible price for customers. The analyst expects this new iPhone to be priced to replace iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, as cheap as $699," 9to5Mac reported late on Wednesday.

"The replacement for iPhoneX is believed to consist of a three-SKU 2018 iPhone lineup. A new iPhoneX style device with improved internals, a larger 'iPhone X Plus' with a 6.5-inch OLED display and the 6.1-inch LCD model," the report added.

Kuo also expects iPhoneX to ship a total of 62 million units in its lifetime, adding the company will cease production of this particular model mid-year.

All three devices are expected to feature "Face ID" feature and lose the home button in favour of iPhoneX's gestural navigation.

The 6.1-inch iPhone device will not get a dual camera nor 3D Touch, according to a previous KGI report.