Apple could introduce an iPhone 6c, a cheaper, smaller alternative to the popular iPhone 6, sometime before the holidays.

The company similarly introduced the iPhone 5c as a cheap version of the iPhone 5. The iPhone 6c was originally rumored to be released at the same time as the iPhone 6s, Tech Radar reports. When there was no mention of the iPhone 6c at the release event, many thought that the cheaper version of the iPhone 6 was dead.

Even though the iPhone 6 was updated to the iPhone 6s and no iPhone 6c was announced this year, many still expect a cheaper version of the iPhone 6 to appear at some point. 

The absence of announcement events on the Apple calendar does not indicate the 6c won't come this year, as a device like the 6c is unlikely to warrant as much pomp as the 6s release. The 6c would not signal a major change from Apple's business as usual, and the device would likely be announced through a press release instead.

The iPhone 6c would probably be very similar to the iPhone 5c. It would have a plastic shell, which would allow it to stay on the cheap side compared to the metal iPhone 6s models. It would also probably have a 4.0-inch screen like the iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c, a screen size Apple mostly abandoned with the introduction of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 earlier this year. 

To keep the iPhone 6c cheap, the company would need to use lower-end features like an internal chip, camera and RAM. With the iPhone 6s, Apple introduced the new A9 chip, so the 6c would likely use the older A8 chip. The camera would also stay at 8 megapixels (MP), while the iPhone 6s upgraded to 12 MP. Finally, the RAM included in the iPhone 6c would have to remain at 1GB, instead of 2GB like the iPhone 6s.

Yet, the iPhone 6c may still share some advanced features included in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. It would likely have NFC technology, which would give it Apple Pay capabilities. It would also probably have a fingerprint sensor through Touch ID.

With a plastic shell and stripped down features, the iPhone 6c might seem like a cheap phone, but it would still offer holiday shoppers something similar to the premium iPhone 6 at a reasonable price.