iPhone 7 release could see a new, smaller phone alongside existing bigger models, reports say

Apple could go be gearing up to launch a new phone with a 4-inch screen, a return to the smaller models first seen with the iPhone 5s

Apple store staff pose with the new Apple iPhone 5S before its goes on sale at an Apple Store at Tokyo's Ginza shopping district (Reuters)

Apple could be gearing up to launch a new, smaller iPhone that will look like the iPhone 5s.

The company has moved towards bigger phones with the iPhone 6 and the even bigger 6 Plus, which were followed up this year by phones that had the same dimensions. But the company is planning another phone that keeps the old iPhone 5 sizing, according to a new report by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Sales of the iPhone have gone up since Apple started offering the bigger models, which many have put down to pent up demand since the company long put off upgrading the size of its handsets. But many are still keen on the smaller phones.

The phone could serve the same function as the iPhone 5c, which was a cheaper version of the phone with slightly older internal parts intended to be a cheap way of getting an Apple handset. The company might leave out some big features like 3D touch, which arrived with the iPhone 6s, according to the report.

The phone will have a metal case, unlike the 5c, according to the same report, and will potentially look like the 5s. It will also feature upgraded internal parts, such as the A9 chip that features in the iPhone 6s.

The company could launch the new phone in the first half of 2016, the report says.