Apple didn't exactly hit it out of the park when it released the cheaper iPhone 5c two years ago. But as the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s both sport the larger 4.7-inch screen size, there's still a consumer base that wouldn't mind having a new version of the old 4-inch iPhone on the table.

That's at least the presumed logic behind the rumors that a 4-inch iPhone 6c, or more likely called the iPhone 6s mini, is being planned for an early 2016 release date to sate those customers and boost Apple's already-incredible iPhone sales.

And according to a report from Japanese tech site Mac Otakara (via MacWorld), not only is the 4-inch iPhone inevitable, it's already entered production.

The new diminutive iPhone is rumored to have a different build style than the iPhone 5c, which featured a mostly-plastic chassis available in several colorful options.

Instead, as Latin Post previously reported, a well-respected Apple analyst said it would come with a solid metal build -- part of the reason why the 2016 iPhone will probably avoid the "c" postfix. Another reason as rumors have put it, the possible new 4-inch iPhone is being conceptualized more as an update to the iPhone 5s rather than an all-new iPhone 6c.

As for the release date, reports still differ on how early consumers could expect a new classic-sized iPhone. The same analyst from Latin Post's previous report, KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, said the new iPhone should be released in the first quarter of 2016, which the most recent report of the device entering the production phase would support.

However, an unnamed source from DigiTimes slightly disputes that timeline, putting the launch of the new 4-inch iPhone somewhere in the second quarter of 2016, or even later.

Keep in mind, Apple hasn't traditionally unveiled and released iPhones in the early half of the year. Of course, that could always change, but if the release date turns out to be much later than Q2 2016, we might be better off expecting it to be unveiled at the September 2016 iPhone event as the iPhone 7c.

Stick with Latin Post Tech for updates on the rumored 4-inch Apple iPhone. We'll keep adding them as they happen.