Rumor: Apple is working on cheaper iPhone with 4.7″ LCD and Touch ID

Apple is working on a relatively cheap iPhone with a 4.7-inch screen and a home button with Touch ID, sources from financial news agency Bloomberg say. The phone looks like a sequel to the iPhone 8 and may be released in the spring.

In terms of appearance, the device will resemble the iPhone 8, Bloomberg reports. Apple sells that phone, which came out in 2017 and also has a 4.7 “screen, for 570 euros. The fingerprint scanner in the home button will also return, the financial news agency claims. The three current iPhones only have facial scanner Face ID.

Apple’s cheapest new iPhone is the XR. This phone currently costs about 740 euros. Bloomberg says the device will be released in the first half of next year. Japan’s Nikkei also reported on Wednesday the arrival of a cheaper Apple phone similar to the iPhone 8. The Japanese business newspaper gave no details. Nikkei noted that Apple wants to keep sales of iPhones high with a release in the first half of the year. Sales of iPhones usually fall in the spring, because the new models have been on the market for half a year.

Bloomberg also echoes the earlier rumor that Apple is working on iPhones with a fingerprint scanner behind the screen. They are now in many Android phones. Apple may want to use the technology in iPhones next year.

The iPhone 8, what the new iPhone may look like