Research firm TrendForce predicts that Apple will introduce three iPhones this year and will include a budget iPhone smartphone to take on China smartphone makers.
Apple will include Face ID in all three models, and two of them would be premium versions with an AMOLED screen. Apple will offer Pencil as an option.

TrendForce estimates that the production volume will be around 83-88 million units. The new iPhones may take a larger share of the company’s annual sales volume compared with the three models released last year.

TrendForce expects the growth in sales volume of iPhones will be flat or marginal by 2-3 percent. The poor demand for iPhones will be influenced by the saturated smartphone market and the longer replacement cycle of phones across the world. Apple would retain its second position, following Samsung, TrendForce said.

The new iPhones may include two AMOLED versions, with a size of 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch respectively, as well as a less expensive 6.1-inch version with an LCD screen.

Apple’s OEMs have already started assembling the two premium models of iPhones with AMOLED screen since late July. OEMs will start the assembly of the budget models with LCD in mid-September. Apple will start the shipment of all three models in September and October as previously scheduled.

The above telecom statistics prepared by IDC shows the smartphone market share of Samsung, Huawei, Apple, Xiaomi and OPPO.

Apple may adjust its pricing strategies to take on China smartphone brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, among others.

Apple will need to improve its cost structure to cope with the threats brought by Android brands. Apple is bargaining with its supply chain partners for cost reduction of components, especially the components that have been used in earlier generations of iPhone, to maintain its profitability.

The budget 6.1-inch LCD version of iPhone will come with Face ID, Dual-SIM function, and a larger screen than its predecessor iPhone 8. The specs upgrades would make new iPhones more favorable in the competition with Android phones.

Apple will position the 6.1-inch LCD model as its main product this year, with a production share of around 50 percent in the new iPhone series. The starting price of this LCD version will be around $699-749.

The two premium AMOLED versions would feature a memory content of 4GB. The 5.8-inch one would come as the successor of iPhone X, but with a lower starting price of $899-949. iPhone X will start its end of life process earlier due to the high similarity in the specs of these two models.

Apple will target the 6.5-inch AMOLED version at the premium business segment, with an extra-large screen and Dual-SIM service in certain regions. The starting price of the premium AMOLED iPhone will be around $999, TrendForce said.