Apple Is Allegedly Killing off an iPhone Model Just Months Before Its Release

Apple is apparently going to kill off an iPhone model just months before its release, new reports say.

Numerous rumors, leaks and mockups have suggested that Apple would release three iPhones in the fall: a 4.7-inch model with a single lens camera, and two 5.5-inch models — one of them with a dual-lens camera, and the other sporting a more traditional single lens setup.

But new reports have suggested that Apple will cut the single lens, 5.5-inch iPhone entirely, due to intense competition from other smartphone manufacturers, according to sources cited by Nikkei.

“This has never happened before. Before this year, Apple never made changes to iPhone’s product line mere months before the launch. It has been a volatile year for Apple,” one of Nikkei’s sources said.

According to leaks, the single lens iPhone was expected to be called the iPhone 7 Plus, while the dual lens model was to be dubbed the iPhone 7 Pro.

This might be a boon for Apple customers, as it was likely that the iPhone 7 Pro — originally the only with a dual lens camera — would have been a more expensive model, iClarified suggested.

Whatever the case, this announcement comes at a time when Apple’s sales have been stagnant, and the company is seemingly struggling to give people a reason to upgrade, Business Insider reported.

To further emphasize that point, this year’s iPhone is not expected to be that far of a departure from last year’s models.

The iPhone 7 is expected to feature a new position for its antennae and increased water resistance. And perhaps more controversially, the new models are expected to lack a headphone jack — meaning that headphones will have to be Bluetooth-capable, or plugged into the Lightning port by way of an adapter.

Both models of the iPhone 7 will feature vastly improved cameras, however. The dual lens camera that the larger model will sport is expected to give the phone increased zoom capability and overall better photo quality.

But this seems like an in-between year for the company, much like 2012 and 2013, when Apple released its iPhone 5 and 5s amid a wave of larger-screens Android smartphones.

Things are expected to get interesting in 2017, which is when Apple is preparing to release an iPhone that some sources report will be a “powder keg” for the company’s sales.

That iPhone is expected to have an entirely new design, including a glass body with an edge-to-edge, bezel-less screen — and no home button. Other rumored features include wireless charging capabilities.

But we’ll have to wait until 2017 to actually see what Apple is cooking up. In the meantime, the company is expected to launch the iPhone 7 in September of this year.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]