Recent rumors suggest that Apple will be reintroducing the 4-inch form factor for the iPhone, offering a total of three different sizes of iPhone during the next refresh of the device.

The smaller 4-inch device is expected to be called the "iPhone 6c," and will feature the same colors and plastic body found on the iPhone 5c.

Apple is far from making any announcements about its next lineup, but leaked images seem to show a plastic shell for the upcoming 4-inch phone, suggesting Apple is ready to offer a cheaper variant of the device again.

The decision will mark a continued change for Apple to offer more options rather than a "one size fits all" approach. Many were surprised that Apple offered the iPhone 6 Plus considering its previous approach with its devices, but many were also disappointed with Apple's decision to stop offering a 4-inch phone. It makes sense, therefore, that Apple will be catering to these people's needs.

The leak did not show anything further than the plastic backing of the device, but that is telling enough. It is easy to speculate about the specs of the device; it is likely that Apple will offer many of the same specs in this generation of the iPhone for the cheaper model in the next generation.

While the plastic backing does look very similar to the backing of the iPhone 5c, the shape of the camera flash is different, lending credence to the leak.

While the device may offer many of the same internals as the current generation of the iPhone, it is likely that the camera will be a little different, given the shape of the flash, which is oval rather than circular, like in the iPhone 6.

Another change in the backing of the leaked casing is in the speaker grill at the bottom, which shows two sets of speaker holes at the bottom. Despite this, it is likely that the decision was more for symmetry rather than for stereo speakers, especially given the fact that Apple has never offered stereo speakers on its iPhone.

While some might dismiss the introduction of an iPhone 6c as a bad decision, in reality, the iPhone 5c was more popular than many believe. It certainly was not as big of a failure as some think. It was especially useful for the company in offering a device that was not as expensive as the other models.

Only time will tell if this leak ends up being real, but it certainly looks to be so for now.

Photo: Sean Gallup | Getty Images