iPhone Rumors: What You Might Find (Or Miss) In The Next iPhone

And how might Apple’s smartphone line be affected.

- Dan Moren

The old Apple adage says it’s never too early to start speculating about the new iPhone. At the time of this writing, we are in May, with a month still to go before Apple’s next major announcements at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and already, the rumors are flying fast and furious about the company’s next unveiling after that.

So, as I like to do on occasion, it’s time to round up a few of the most prominent rumors about Apple’s next iPhone and consider how they might affect Apple’s smart phone line. And because every good roundup should have a theme, let’s call this one “Included (or not).”

REACH OUT AND 3D TOUCH SOMEONE

Cost balancing is always a factor in product design. Yes, Apple may make a big deal out of saying that it builds the device that it wants to build, and then figures out how much it wants to charge, but figuring out how to differentiate phone models based on features still comes into play.

In what would be an unusual move, one thing Apple is reportedly considering is ditching 3D Touch for its iPhone Xsuccessor (go.macworld.com/no3d).

3D Touch is hardly ubiquitous in Apple's lineup. Currently, only one iPhone lacks it: the SE, a model that is widely rumored to be updated at some point in the not too distant future. Given that 3DTouch is an added expense and the SE is holding down the fort at the low end of Apple’s price lineup, the feature may still not come to Apple’s cheapest iPhone, which potentially lends credence to it being MIA on other iPhones as well.