It’s been widely rumored that Apple is planning to launch three new iPhones this year, including a 5.8-inch iPhone X, a 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus, and a 6.1-inch “budget iPhone X” that is expected to come with an LCD display and other midrange features and specifications. The latter phone, despite supposedly being less impressive in those regards, has garnered a lot of interest from potential buyers and market analysts due to the expectation that it will be sold at an affordable price point, as opposed to the former two devices, which are being hyped up as Apple’s flagships for the 2018 model year. With that in mind, a new leak has reportedly showcased Apple’s rumored budget device and offered a “first-ever” look at the handset ahead of its unveiling.
According to a report from BGR , the new leak differs from previous ones, as it appears to show the budget iPhone X at one of Apple’s manufacturing plants, as opposed to the earlier mockups and schematic leaks. The leak was originally posted to Slashleaks on Saturday by a user with the handle MikelaGore, and as BGR observed, the photo appears to have been taken at a factory, possibly at one of the Foxconn plants that regularly manufacture iPhones for Apple.
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Although only the upper half of the purported budget iPhone X is shown on the leaked photo, the image offers a closer look at what could be Apple’s camera setup for the midrange handset. Previous dummy photos had also shown a single-lens, dual-LED flash setup for the budget device’s rear camera, and while that can also be seen on the new photo, BGR opined that the new leak is possibly the “real deal,” as it appears more realistic than the aforementioned mockups. Interestingly, the photo only has a 50 percent “trust score” on Slashleaks , though it’s unclear how many people voted on the leak’s trustworthiness since it was posted.
The budget iPhone X is expected to be launched alongside its higher-end counterparts at a press event in September, and while most rumors suggest that the three phones will be available in stores about two weeks later, BGR noted that there have been unconfirmed reports about “manufacturing difficulties” that could delay the more affordable phone’s release until November. The publication added that the budget phone is likely to sell for “much less” than $1,000, possibly in the $649 to $699 price range. The other two iPhones, on the other hand, might sell for around $999 for the smaller model and $1,149 for the iPhone X Plus, according to earlier forecasts from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
