Apple iPhone 5se/6c Could Launch with the A9 CPU as the 6s and 6s Plus

New 4-inch iPhone report points to hardware specs

Apple is expected to unveil a new 4-inch iPhone sometime next month, but due to the company’s CIA-like secrecy, there’s not a single thing that’s certain about this device except for its screen size.


As far as technical specifications are concerned, there have been quite a lot of rumors, some claiming that the phone could come with the A8 + M8 CPU combo, while others indicated that Apple wanted to go for something more powerful and opted for the A9 + M9 duo.

According to a report by Bloomberg, this latter configuration seems more likely to be installed on the upcoming model and for a good reason. Apple doesn’t want to launch a device that feels slow and outdated because that could significantly impact its sales, so instead of using old CPUs on the 4-inch iPhone, it will actually go for the latest ones in its phone lineup.

iPhone 7 expected later this year
That shouldn’t be a problem anyway given the fact that the iPhone 7 is expected to launch later this year, most likely with an A10 processor, so there’ll be a significant difference between the high-end models and this smaller version.

At the same time, rumor has it that the upcoming iPad Air 3 will come with the A9X chip, the same one that’s available on the iPad Pro and which should offer an important performance boost.

Nothing is confirmed so far though, so we can’t even know for sure what name Apple wants to use for the 4-inch iPhone, as sources point to different monikers at this point. While some claim the company could call it iPhone 5se because of the 4-inch screen, others believe that 6c has more chances to be picked for the same reason as above, as the company wants the device to feel fresh.

The two new devices are likely to launch in mid-March, but Apple is yet to confirm the press event.