Following months of leaks, the iPhone 9 has emerged as
In a detailed new report obtained by 9to5Mac, famously accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed the iPhone 9 (which I predict to simply be called ‘iPhone’) will actually amount to a lot less than the ‘affordable iPhone X’ hype many reports have claimed.
Breaking down Kuo’s findings highlights no less than seven significant areas where Apple will cut costs with the iPhone 9 in comparison to the premium iPhone X Plus and second generation iPhone X (sometimes called the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus). Let’s break them down:
Inferior Display And Resolution
Yes, it has long been known that the iPhone 9 will have an LCD display while the new iPhone X and iPhone X Plus use OLED. But Kuo states the 6.1-inch iPhone 9 will also have a very low native resolution of just 1792 x 828 pixels.
This is not only significantly worse than the iPhone X (2436 x 1125) and iPhone X Plus (2688 x 1242) but given 6-inches panels on Android phones typically have 2880 x 1440 native resolutions, the iPhone 9 is seriously off the pace for such a big phone.
Questionable Battery
Kuo states the new iPhone X and iPhone X Plus will have batteries up to 2,800 mAh and 3,400 mAh, but the iPhone 9 will be limited to 2,600 to 2,700 mAh. Given the original iPhone X has decent, if not spectacular battery life, and the iPhone 9 has a larger and less efficient LCD panel this raises genuine concern.
Reduced Storage And RAM
Another cut Kuo details is the iPhone 9 will be limited to 3GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while its more premium stablemates will have 4GB and up to 512GB.
Slower WiFi
Interestingly, Kuo reveals Apple will upgrade the new iPhone X and iPhone X Plus to 4x4 MIMO 802.11ac WiFi. This promises not just faster speeds but also significantly greater range. The iPhone 9, on the other hand, will have 2x2 MIMO so if you have black spots in your home, don’t expect that to change with this phone.
No Dual Camera
We’ve heard this one before, but Kuo’s brings more weight to the news that Apple will limit the iPhone 9 to a single rear camera. This means owners will miss out on the 2x telephoto capabilities of the OLED models.
Release Delay
Another leak we’ve heard recently is the iPhone 9 faces a delayed launch compared to the other models and Kuo believes this as well. While he doesn’t put a date on the delay, industry talk says it may be several months behind creating a last-minute rush before Christmas.
Despite all this doom and gloom, however, Kuo does stress one part of the iPhone 9 which is likely to win out over any shortcomings: the price.
With Apple still pitching the iPhone X and iPhone X Plus around the $1,000 mark, Kuo says Apple will sell the iPhone 9 for no more than $699 and it could be as low as $600. So confident is Kuo that price-conquers-all, he expects iPhone 9 shipments to account for as much as 70% of all new iPhone sales by the first half of 2019.
Given the iPhone X and iPhone X Plus will also ship with several limitations of their own, I suspect Kuo might be right. Again.
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