Should Apple Release An iPhone 6C?

Apple Inc. AAPL is rumored to be developing three separate iPhones this year, all of which are expected to be released this fall. The Mac maker is all but guaranteed to release an upgraded version of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but the company may also introduce a new plastic iteration known as the iPhone 6C.

Last week's potentially accidental leak was very revealing, but is it proof of an existing product or a mere concept within Apple? And is it what the world really needs?

"I think [the iPhone 5C was] a good product if you think about it in terms of [the] price point," Niles Lawrence, president of stock analysis site Vuru, told Benzinga. "At the end of the day because Apple is becoming a luxury brand, I think it'll have the same impact that the Apple Watch had. Apple Watch has three versions. Most people I know have the plastic or sports version."

Lawrence believes that the iPhone 6C could have "huge potential" if it comes in at a competitive price point. He also spoke positively about the Apple Watch's adoption rate in the Valley. "I think everyone is still waiting to get an Apple Watch," he added. "I think it'll be pretty good and once you start building apps for it. All my friends who have it love it."

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Three Form Factors

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry said that he is "not sure" about the 6C concept. "But I do see, whatever it is…Apple's [next iPhone] may come in three form factors: small, medium and large," Chowdhry told Benzinga. The analyst described his current smartphone (the iPhone 6) as the "medium" device. That makes the iPhone 6 Plus the "large" handset, but the company has yet to release a mini iPhone.

"It makes sense for certain segments [or a] certain user base, who don't have huge pockets and they want [the iPhone's] key functionality but they don't want to carry very heavy phones in their pockets," Chowdhry added.

"I know the phone factor they're working on is a smaller form factor, about 3/4 [the size] of the iPhone 6."

Chowdhry expects the older, smaller iPhones to slowly disappear from stores and get replaced by this new trio of devices.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.