Apple is believed to have several secrets up its sleeve for this year’s iPhone launches. And a new iPhone X Plus with Apple Pencil support might be one of them.
The tech giant is readying three iPhones for this year, including a 6.1-inch iPhone and a 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus to complement the follow-up to the 5.8-inch iPhone X, TrendForce analysts said on Tuesday. Arguably the most important prediction from TrendForce centers on the Apple Pencil and the analysts’ belief that Apple is planning to deliver stylus support in the iPhone X Plus. It would be the first iPhone to come with stylus support.
For years, Apple’s chief rival Samsung has been selling a Galaxy Note handset that comes with stylus support. The feature allows you to digitally write on the screen, annotate documents, and more. The Apple Pencil is compatible with Apple’s iPad Pro, but the company hasn’t extended its support to other devices, like the iPhone X Plus.
Adding the feature to the iPhone X Plus could take some of the wind out of the Galaxy Note 9’s sails. Samsung unveiled that device last week to major fanfare. It’s the only major smartphone maker to offer a smartphone with a stylus.
Aside from that, TrendForce analysts made several other predictions for this year’s iPhone line. The analysts said that 5.8- and 6.5-inch options would offer up to 512GB of storage, but the cheaper 6.1-inch model would top out at 256GB. Apple will be able to keep the price on the 6.1-inch model down by using LCD screen technology instead of OLED, which is more expensive to produce, according to the TrendForce analysts.
However, across the line, prices should come down, with the iPhone X going for $899, the iPhone X Plus costing $999, and the LCD model going for between $699 and $749.
Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhones in early September.