Will Apple iPhone 6 In 2014 Have Siblings? Morgan Stanley Analyst Predicts 'Multiple iPhone Refreshes' Every Year

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) split up its iPhone lineup this year with the introduction of the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, and this divergence of its flagship smartphone segment will allow the company to offer new iPhone models multiple times in a year in the future, an analyst said on Wednesday.

According to Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley, the ability to launch new products more frequently than before with more flexible pricing will help Apple increase iPhone unit growth in 2014, MacRumors reported.

Apple is currently selling the premium iPhone 5s and the less-expensive iPhone 5c, alongside the iPhone 4S as a lower-end offering of its smartphone lineup. Although Apple’s plans regarding the upgrade of its new iPhones in the coming days are still unknown, Huberty believes that the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant would be able to utilize its two-fold iPhone lineup for “multiple refreshes per year.”

After meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer recently, Huberty indicated that there are ample growth potentials in the company’s services category. She also suggested that Apple could develop the new Touch ID functionality even further to expand its usage.

“Services a meaningful opportunity. As we highlighted in our June 4, 2013 note, iOS usage stats far exceeds Android,” MacRumors quoted Huberty as saying. “Combining 575M+ high-end consumer accounts (most linked to credit cards or ACH) with investments Apple is making in cutting edge hardware, like the fingerprint sensor, and upgrading its installed base to the latest versions of iOS and OS X sets up for new services revenue streams, in our view.”

Apple itself hinted at new upcoming products during its fourth quarter earnings call last month, when Cook indicated that the company could introduce new product categories in 2014. According to him, Apple has the skills to create “great products” in categories that are yet to be explored by the company.

Rumors have it that the 2014 model of the iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 6, will sport a larger screen that will attract more customers to upgrade to the new model. However, there has not been any information so far about the next-generation iPhone 5c.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Apple is set to certify two new Asian assembly partners -- Taiwan-based Wistron (TPE:3231) and Compal Communications (TPE:8078) -- to boost supplies of the iPhone 5c and the iPad mini and supplement Apple's existing partners -- Foxconn and Pegatron.