iPhone Xs Max Said to Be 'Likely' Name for 6.5-inch Model, All 3 Model Prices Leaked Ahead of Launch

Apple is all set to host its big event at the Steve Jobs Theatre next week, and tipsters and analysts have gone on an overdrive to dig out all the information possible ahead of the official launch. New reports suggest that the 6.5-inch OLED model - touted to be the most premium device this year - is expected to be called the iPhone Xs Max. Furthermore, pricing of all the three variants have also been leaked yet again, and KeyBanc Capital Markets analysts feel that this year' Apple sales will do better than even last year, thanks to big screen variants. They say Apple will see a big rise in sales this year due to the new large screen on its 6.1-inch LCD variant and the 6.5-inch OLED variant.

There has been a lot of speculation of what the three variants will be called this year, and now 9to5Mac claims that the largest 6.5-inch variant will "likely" be called the iPhone Xs Max. The report cites two people familiar with Apple's marketing plans. Apple has traditionally added a 'Plus' at the end of its big screen variant, but it looks to cut that tradition this year, as previously reported by Bloomberg, with the iPhone Xs Max. The 5.8-inch variant will be called iPhone Xs, and the LCD variant is most likely going to be called the iPhone 9.

Another report from German site Macerkopf states that the LCD variant will be priced at EUR 799 (roughly Rs. 66,700), the iPhone Xs will be priced at EUR 909 (roughly Rs. 75,900), and the iPhone Xs Plus (or Max) will be priced at EUR 1,149 (roughly Rs. 96,000). The site cites two sources who quote the same price, and says that these prices are for the 64GB variant. The 256GB variant are going to cost EUR 170 (roughly Rs. 14,200) more. The report states that there is also going to be a 512GB model, however the price rise for that variant remains unknown.

KeyBanc Capital Market analysts have issued a fresh investor note, as obtained by Barrons, and it claims that this year is going to be big for Apple, even more that the iPhone 6 launch year that saw huge sales thanks to the newly introduced big screens. "Over the last six years, screen size is the lone feature that we believe has demonstrated a consistent ability to drive both volume and pricing power...This was evident in the iPhone 6 cycle, where a step-up in screen size drove both pricing and volume, and in the iPhone X cycle, where a larger screen in a similar-sized form factor drove strong pricing power." KeyBanc Capital Markets wrote in its note.

Apple saw record sales during the iPhone 6 year due to the large screen size on the iPhone 6 Plus, and even the iPhone X was a hit, but this year, Apple is expected to perform even better thanks to its 6.1-inch LCD variant. "We expect the shift to a borderless LCD iPhone and the introduction of a larger OLED iPhone to drive solid pricing power in the fiscal 2019 iPhone cycle. The high-end smartphone market is saturated. So, we do not expect significant growth in iPhone unit volume...[but] we expect the new LCD iPhone to price at a premium to the blended ASP for the iPhone 8/8+ and for the new larger OLED iPhone to price at a premium to the current iPhone X. This combination should drive the overall iPhone ASP up modestly in fiscal 2019," the investor note read.

In any case, all the three iPhones are expected to only come with Face ID, and no in-display fingerprint tech is expected to be integrated. The LCD variant is expected to sport dual-SIM slots, and all the three devices will sport a display notch.

New iPhones may well be amazing but will Apple follow a new strategy in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.