iPhone Mini? Apple Working on Smaller & Cheaper iPhone

Feb 10, 2011 - 6 Comments

iphone-mini

Could an iPhone Mini debut this year? According to Bloomberg, Apple is set to unveil a smaller iPhone model in the middle of this year, which is around the same time the iPhone 5 release date and WWDC 2011 conference is expected.

iPhone Mini: iPhone 4 Components, 1/3 Smaller, $200

Citing a source who has seen a prototype, the smaller version of the iPhone that we’ll loosely call iPhone Mini will be cheaper and start at $200 without requiring a service contract. The device is said to feature components from the existing iPhone 4, but be about 1/3 smaller than existing models. Bloomberg’s source cautions that “the introduction may be delayed or scrapped” and that not many Apple employees know of the project.

iPhone Mini & iPhone 5: Dual-Mode with Universal SIM?

Possibly related, Bloomberg also says that Apple is working on dual-mode iPhones, which would allow a single device to work on both GSM and CDMA networks, in addition to a Universal SIM card that would allow iPhone users to jump between different GSM networks without switching sim cards. A Universal SIM may signify that iPhones carrying such a chip would be carrier agnostic, which would render the iPhone carrier unlock hacks irrelevant.

Bloomberg and iPhone Rumors
Earlier this year Bloomberg said that the upcoming iPhone 5 and iPad 2 models would become digital wallets through a built-in NFC chip.

Bloomberg should generally be considered a fairly reliable source of Apple rumors. Last year their sources accurately predicted the Verizon iPhone announcement would be in January 2011.

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Related articles:

Posted by: Paul Horowitz in iPhone, News, Rumor

6 Comments

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  1. […] in the face of an increasingly competitive mobile landscape. The NYT also disputes some of the past claims regarding new iPhones from WSJ and Bloomberg, specifically that the cheaper device won’t be […]

  2. […] smoke, there tends to be fire. The Wall Street Journal is now confirming Bloomberg’s report of an iPhone Mini, and they’re also revealing some new details about the device, including it’s codename, […]

  3. Shena says:

    Seems kinda like what HP is doing with the Veer.

  4. Parakeet says:

    Current iPhone is small enough from a usability standpoint, Android is going the other direction with larger screens.

    I’m more interested in the motivation here though, why make a cheaper phone without a contract that spans carriers? Saturate the market with cheap phones? That’s kind of what Bloomberg hints at.

  5. Matt Chan says:

    Nice little osxdaily favicon you snuck in that mockup :)

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