There is no doubt that the 6.1-inch budget iPhone X is one of the most exciting models that are expected to come out this year. As of now, there is no official confirmation that such a handset even exists but rumours are rife with the news that Apple will be announcing three new iPhone models this year all bearing the notch with support for Face ID. However, well reputed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed that the budget iPhone X aka iPhone 9 will not be as great as first thought to be according to a report by Forbes.
The report states that there are no several areas where the iPhone 9 will be less than satisfactory in comparison to the other OLED-sporting iPhone models (dubbed iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus) that are expected to launch this year.
Starting off, the display of the budget iPhone X will feature an LCD display in comparison to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Plus. Apple is said to be cutting costs by limiting it with an OLED panel. However, in what may come as a surprise is that the iPhone 9 will feature a resolution of just 1792 x 828 pixels. This resolution pales in comparison to the OLED iPhone X that sports a 2436 x 1125 pixel resolution but also pretty inferior in comparison to 6-inch panels found on Android handsets that have native resolutions of 2688 x 1242 pixels. This proves that the iPhone 9 is seriously lacking in this department.
The battery life on the iPhone 9 is expected to be between 2600mAh and 2700mAh. The iPhone XS and XS Plus will overshadow it by sporting batteries ranging from 2800mAh to 3400mAh. The fact that the iPhone 9 will feature such a low capacity battery certainly raises a few concerns.
Another area where Apple is expected to cut costs on the iPhone 9 is the amount of RAM used. Kuo predicts that the handset will feature just 3GB of RAM and a maximum of 256GB storage which is less than compared to the iPhone XS and XS Plus that are believed to have 4GB RAM and a maximum of 512GB of onboard storage.
Wi-Fi connectivity on the iPhone 9 will be limited to 2x2 MIMO, while the OLED-bearing handsets will have 4x4 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi. With the latter, you can expect to get faster speeds as well as greater range.
One area regarding the iPhone 9 that has constantly been doing the rounds is the camera. Apple is expected to add a single-lens system on the handset while the higher-end versions will sport dual-cameras on the rear with 2x telephoto capabilities.
And lastly, the iPhone 9 is expected to be delayed until up to several months after the launch of the OLED models.
However, Kuo goes on to add that besides these shortcomings, Apple will win over its fans with the new iPhone 9 as it will be very competitively priced. The iPhone 9 will be priced at no more than USD 699 (about Rs 49,227) and may be as low as USD 600 (approximately Rs 42,225).
Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Asian Age and/or other staff and contributors to this website.
