Apple doesn’t usually make iPhone models that are specific to one country but that could be about to change if a new report out of China is to be believed. It claims that the company is working on a new iPhone which will be cheaper and will only be available in China.
Citing sources in the supply chain, China’s Global Times reports that Apple is thinking about launching a new iPhone which will be cheaper and available only in China. This is said to be Apple’s response to declining sales in the region.
Face ID would apparently one of the features that get cut to trim the costs. Apple is rumored to replace it with a new Touch ID system that would involve a display-based fingerprint sensor. Merely replacing Face ID could save several hundred yuan off the price as the tech behind it isn’t exactly cheap.
It’s pertinent to note here that Apple has previously gone out of its way to cater to Chinese customers given that it’s one of the most lucrative smartphone markets on the planet. Apple made a dual-SIM model of the iPhone for China just because customers preferred it there. Even though many of its customers elsewhere would have been more than happy to buy it, Apple only offered it in China. Whether or not the claims in this report are accurate is another matter.