KGI: Apple Could Ship 100 Million Units of New 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, Replacing iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in 2018 Device Line-up

Wednesday February 14, 2018 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared shipment projections with MacRumors for Apple's rumored 6.1-inch iPhone that he expects to launch in the second half of 2018.

The device is said to have some iPhone X features such as Face ID, but design compromises will enable Apple to put it at a more affordable price point. They could include an LCD screen instead of an OLED display, an aluminum frame, a single lens camera, and no 3D Touch.

iphones 2018 kgi

We project shipments under the new product life cycle (4Q18-3Q19) for the 6.1" LCD iPhone, estimated to be launched in 2H18, will reach around 100mn units.

According to Kuo's research note, shipment projections could fluctuate depending on the selling price of the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, which Kuo believes will be somewhere between $700 and $800 in the United States. In his analysis, shipments will be around 105-115 million units when priced at US$699, and 95-105 million units when priced at US$799.

The price could also depend on "whether Apple ultimately sees the new 6.1-inch LCD model as the successor of iPhone 8 or 8 Plus," according to Kuo. In a previous note, KGI Securities has said the 6.1-inch iPhone will have a standard non-stacked logic board and rectangular battery pack like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

Kuo expects the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone to account for around 50 percent of the new iPhone line-up's shipments, with sales remaining strong into 2019. On that basis, today's shipping estimate suggests lifetime sales of 2018 iPhones could reach approximately 200 million units.

The device is expected to be announced around September-October as usual alongside a new 5.8-inch iPhone X and a larger 6.5-inch version dubbed iPhone X Plus.

Tags: KGI Securities, Ming-Chi Kuo

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Top Rated Comments

zonk44

104 months ago

Given that I can do everything with a ‘long press’ on my iPhone SE, that uses ‘3D Touch’ on the latest iPhones, is it actually needed?

You can't do everything with long press. In my opinion, the greatest feature of 3D touch is the ability to control a precise text cursor by 3D touching the keyboard. Setting the text cursor to a preferred position in a text field was a pain for me pre-3D touch

Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)

jonnyb

104 months ago

Dark UI, we've had the candy coloured, eye-watering festival of girliness for way too long. I'd love to see a slick, dark UI scheme with toned down colours and instead greys and transparency. Please, all the men in the world are crying out for a dark theme for iOS.

Yeah, we need a manly UI for men, devoid of colour, whimsy, and imagination. It would also help colourblind men. GRRRR!

I see this need every day on my train to work. Grown manly men, often with hairy chests, weeping (not too loudly, obviously) as they have to spend another commute looking at colours.

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

lionsy

104 months ago

I still think the lack of 3D touch is either completely wrong or if true, would be a massive misstep from Apple.

It's a core feature of the OS at this point.

Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)

alexgowers

104 months ago

I think Apple needs to deprecate some of its tech to hit what people really want at the right price.

3D touch is probably the reason a through the screen fingerprint reader wasn't possible as it makes the screen stack so thick. IMO it should definitely be dropped on ALL models. FaceID is a nice idea but a rear fingerprint or under screen would be preferable for both cost savings and design.

Lighting needs to go in favour of USBC, then hopefully we can all settle on a headphone standard that will be on all devices regardless of make from laptops to tablets and phones. Every new phone and PC has the jack now, so the switch won't be that bad and i'm sure an adapter could be made that sits flush for all hold outs.

Frame material should be cheap, whether that is aluminium or steel.

Glass back, honestly i want to see glass backs go away, they suck. Ceramic, metal, plastic, composite that doesn't crack would all be preferable.

Curved Bezels and bezels, I think we are ready for thinner bezels from Apple. It's almost a must to remain competitive. The curves in the corners are offensive to me in so many ways. Just pull that screen all the way to the edge and have it drip over the sides already!

The Aspect ratio! OH god this is one of my biggest pet peeves. 16:9 is video and the screen should be 16:9 at ALL times regardless of how it affects one-handed use.

Dark UI, we've had the candy coloured, eye-watering festival of girliness for way too long. I'd love to see a slick, dark UI scheme with toned down colours and instead greys and transparency. Please, all the men in the world are crying out for a dark theme for iOS.

Notifications have to be redone. Android does notifications right yet apple still clings to every notification from every app having a separate box. They need to be grouped with options to show by time instead.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)