A new research note by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has seemingly added weight to Wednesday’s report that Apple is indeed planning to release a 4” iPhone 6c in early 2016. Kuo believes the new model will resemble an upgraded iPhone 5s while including an A9 chip, NFC support for Apple Pay, and a metal casing with multiple color options. The camera specs are believed to be the same as on the iPhone 5s. Kuo notes that demand still exists for 4” smartphones, and estimates sales of 15-17m 4” iPhones by the end of this year, with the new iPhone 6c expected to account for 8 to 9 percent of total iPhone shipments in 2016. The price of the new iPhone 6c is expected to fall somewhere in the $400 to $500 range. Kuo also suggests that the addition of Apple Pay support will be a strong incentive for Apple to launch a new 4” model in order to expand that ecosystem to users who may wish to take advantage of the new payment system but don’t necessarily want to tote a larger iPhone to do so. [via MacRumors]