Marching forward in the race to dominating the smartphone market, Apple will continue to refresh its iPhone line this year, but will not return to 4-inch screens, according to supply chain sources in the Far East.

Feng.com has it on file from people in the supply chain that Apple has not made any inroads to develop and sell a new 4-inch handset, despite claims that many people still prefer the smaller screens.

Apple would risk embarrassment

The argument put forth by the sources is that Apple does not want to attract negative press by seemingly clinging to the past. Although some people indeed prefer smaller displays, the 4.7-inch form factor seems ideal for most consumers. Currently, Apple still sells the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, both of which have 4-inch displays. In total, the company has three distinct iPhone models with significantly different designs and price points.

A rumor making the rounds in December 2014 said that Apple was planning to downgrade the iPhone 6 to a 4-inch form factor while beefing up its internals, to achieve an iPhone 6S “mini.” Softpedia opined at the time that the rumor sounded farfetched.

If anything, the Cupertino giant will continue to sell the current iPhone 5s configuration alongside upgraded models of the iPhone 6 in 2015. iPhone 5c may or may not be discontinued. If history is any indication, Apple will sell older iPhones for as long as people keep buying them. The 5s still has some life in it yet.
Rumored iPhone 6s spring release

Also coming from “supply chain” people was a rumor that Apple was speeding up the refresh cycle of the iPhone. According to this rumor, iPhone 6s would be released in spring while the all-new iPhone 7 – which would normally have arrived in 2016 – would be released in late 2015.

Apple hasn’t confirmed plans to continue with its bi-annual S-upgrades, despite sticking to this tradition since 2009. One of the reasons behind the sped-up refresh cycle is said to be the Apple Watch debut in spring 2015. Apple reportedly needs an accompanying iDevice announcement to draw attention to the launch, according to some analysts.