After news of a possible mold for the forthcoming iPhone 6 broke yesterday, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) artistes have been very busy over the last 24 hours attempting to produce a convincing impression of what the forthcoming Apple smartphone may look like. This is a step up from the early cases that we’ve seen, with designers now producing a plausible notion of the possible appearance of the Apple iPhone 6.
The latest breaking news has seen Ferry Passchier producing some interesting images which have been picked up by a number of the biggest Apple blogs and websites today. Passchier is an experienced designer with a particular interest in technology issues, and consequently has imagined the design of a new iPhone as if it has been modeled after the iPhone 5c. Thus, it is reasonable to dub Passchier’s imagined image as a possible prototype of the iPhone 6c. Whether or not such a device will appear, and what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) intends to actually call its iPhone 6 models remains to be seen, of course.
Colorful plastic Apple iPhone 6C
Passchier pictures the iPhone 6c with colorful plastic backings, which have possibly surprised some Apple fans. There has been a general assumption that Apple’s forthcoming smartphone will follow the aluminum design of the iPhone 5s. This is despite the fact that other smartphone manufacturers have embraced at least one plastic design, with Samsung for example releasing its flagship Galaxy smartphone in an iteration primarily constructed using plastic.
Whether or not Passchier’s imagining of the iPhone 6c will turn out to be accurate, we don’t know at this point in time. What we do know is that Apple will almost certainly release a device that somewhat resembles that presented by Passchier. All of the evidence at the time of writing is that Apple will release a premium and budget device once the iPhone 6 hits the stores, and a more affordable plastic-based version of the iPhone 6 is highly possible.
The images will perhaps draw mixed reactions from Apple fans. On the one hand, they do look pretty nifty and striking, and the notion of a potentially accurate rendering of the iPhone 6 being released will undoubtedly garner a fair bit of attention. However, many may also wish for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 6 to more strongly resemble the premium version of the previous iPhone iteration. The iPhone 5s received both good reviews and public response, and despite Apple’s fiscal travails in recent months, it in fact sold better than any previous iPhone.
Three iPhone 6 models?
It thus may be felt that a plastic iPhone is something of a backward step. But I think Passchier’s images raise another possibility. We could see more than two versions of the forthcoming iPhone 6. With Apple looking to move into the phablet market seemingly, at least given the evidence that we’ve garnered with regard to the iPhone 6 thus far, it could be viable for Apple to release three iPhones. The budget market also looks to be particularly important going forward, particularly in the less exploited developing economies, so we may see Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) release one phablet iPhone 6, one device which is the rough equivalent of the iPhone 5s, and one entirely new budget device.
This would seem to make commercial sense, time will tell whether Passchier’s vision comes to fruition.
