iPhone 6c rumors: 4-inch $400 phone for small hands

Apple will launch an iPhone 6c next year, featuring the old-skool 4-inch display, an A9 SoC, Apple Pay, and a metal case. It will replace the 5c as the entry-level shiny in Apple’s smartphone lineup.
At least, that’s what the rumors say. And they’re now bolstered by Ming-Chi Kuo piling in.
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Trust Kuo to get it right? Well, his track record is pretty good, but as ever, you should take this rumor with some seasoning.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers trust but verify.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.
What do we know about the next iPhone? Isn’t it about time KGI weighed in? Here’s Ming-Chi Kuo, via Joe Rossignol—New A9-Based 4-Inch iPhone Expected to Launch Early 2016 With Apple Pay and Colorful Metal Casing:
While new model may not generate huge sales, Apple still has good reasons to launch. These are: 
(1) still-existing demand for 4-inch smartphones. We estimate 15-17mn 4-inch iPhones will be shipped in 2015. We estimate the new 4-inch model will account for 8-9% of total iPhone shipments in 2016F; 
(2) expected price of US$400-500, with the aim of penetrating emerging markets and consumers on smaller budgets; and 
(3) adoption of NFC will support Apple Pay, benefiting the ecosystem. 
Recently slowed iPhone 6s orders validates our prediction six months ago that the model may not outsell iPhone 6, potentially resulting in the supply chain returning to a normal cycle starting 1Q16F, and with shipments declining 30-40% QoQ. While the new 4-inch iPhone may not catalyze shipments, it should still help mitigate slow seasonality for suppliers and a negative impact on share performance. This would also in turn raise investor awareness of the Apple supply chain.
The KGI Securities analyst...has a strong track record in predicting Apple's future product plans. 
Kuo said the new 4-inch iPhone will boast an A9 processor. 
Though it will look largely like an iPhone 5s, Kuo said the design...will feature "2.5D" cover glass, or slightly curved like on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s.
[He] also believes that Apple will offer the iPhone 5c in two or three casing colors. 
As for the flagship 2016 model, Kuo believes the so-called "iPhone 7 Plus" will feature 3 gigabytes of RAM [and an] "A10" processor [but] that the 4.7-inch "iPhone 7" is unlikely to see a RAM increase, and will feature the same 2 gigabytes as the iPhone 6s.
Oh boy. Triangulating, here’s Ben Lovejoy, with Latest iPhone 6c rumor repeats metal casing claims, claims launching in Jan, on sale in Feb:
Apple may have used the term “unapologetically plastic” to describe the iPhone 5c, but the latest report about its 6c successor repeats earlier rumors that Apple will be switching to metal this time around. 
Unsurprisingly, it’s not expected that the device will support 3D Touch – a feature Apple will likely want to reserve for its flagship handsets for some time – but it has been suggested that the 6c will get Touch ID and an NFC chip to support Apple Pay. 
The thinking goes that the 6c would replace the iPhone 5s as the entry-level handset.
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Don't bother with Microsoft Windows 10 until you read this.
It’s that time again! 
[Writers for] the goblin-infested warren of ancient dwarf mines that hides an unspeakable darkness...known as Business Insider...are like babies. ... Also, their heads might be soft. 
Nobody buys big phones anymore. ... What was Apple thinking making big phones? Who told them to do that? You know, other than Business Insider, over and over again, relentlessly for like years. 
Just wait another week, there’ll be more weird and nonsensical stuff to absorb your attention.
Didn’t Steve Jobs say something about hte size of an iPhone? I forget. But Humble Eagles reminds us:
The big phones were received so well that Apple almost forgot they were the ones arguing that 4 inches was as big as a phone should be. I think this is a recognition that their earlier intuition wasn't all wrong--some people want a 4 inch phone. 
The other big part of this is enabling Apple Pay on all of their phones.