Apple to unveil bigger, pricier iPhone today

SAN FRANCISCO» Apple is expected to unveil its biggest and most expensive iPhone on Wednesday as part of a lineup of three new models aimed at widening the product’s appeal amid slowing sales growth.

Most of the buzz is swirling around a rumored iPhone that is supposed to boast a 6½inch OLED screen, up from 5.8 inches on the existing iPhone X. OLED is a step up from traditional LCD technology in offering a display without a backlight, so black is truly black rather than simply dark.

If the speculation pans out, the evenbigger iPhone would represent Apple’s attempt to feed consumers’ appetite for increasingly bigger screens as they rely on smartphones to watch and record video, as well as take photos wherever they are.

The iPhone X, a dramatically redesigned model released last fall, got rid of the home button and introduced facialrecognition technology to unlock the device. It was the first massmarket smartphone to demand a $1,000 start ing price. Although the iPhone X didn’t fulfill analysts’ lofty sales expectations, it fared well enough for Apple to up the ante with the bigger model, whose price is expected to unveil Wednesday.

Apple also is expected to release an iPhone with minor updates to last year’s $1,000 model and another version made of cheaper materials, including a 6.1inch LCD screen. Even so, the cheaper iPhone is still expected to sell for $650 to $750. The cheaper phone also is expected to lose the home button. Price cuts for older models, with the home button, are also likely.

Names for the new devices aren’t known. The company may also announce a new smartwatch.

Apple didn’t comment ahead of Wednesday’s event, which is being held at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.

By making more expensive iPhones, Apple has been able to boost profits despite waning demand as people upgrade less frequently. IPhones fetched an average price of $724 during the AprilJune period, a nearly 20 percent increase from a year earlier.