BlueFin Research is out with its latest investor note in which its analysts claim Apple will discontinue the iPhone SE and iPhone X this year as focus shifts towards the “iPhone 9, iPhone 11, and iPhone 11 Plus.”
The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) says that the iPhone SE may be discontinued, but the iPhone X will live on. The BlueFin analysts say Apple’s 2018 smartphone line-up will be the “iPhone 9,” presumed to be an LCD-based phone, and two different models of OLED-based devices, “iPhone 11 and 11 Plus.” They say that Apple is making 28 million units of the iPhone 9, and 11 and 11 Plus in quarter three, up from a prior estimate of 24 million units.
Per Bluefin: “The iPhone 11 Plus should satisfy those unhappy with the iPhone X due to size concerns, while the iPhone 9 device should satisfy more budget-conscious buyers and the aforementioned extension of the iPhone 8 model builds will round out a fairly extensive line-up.”
My crystal ball says that Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup will start at $700 for a 6.1-inch LCD model, while a 5.8-inch OLED model will start at $899. Rounding out the lineup will be the iPhone X Plus, which will start at $999.
Of course, it’s possible that Bluefin is right IF Apple simply rebrands the iPhone X as the iPhone 11, with the iPhone X Plus being dubbed the iPhone 11 Plus. That makes sense from a naming/branding perspective. But as for simply discontinuing the iPhone X, that ain’t gonna happen.
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