iPhone 6 release date may be delayed as Apple unveiled a cheaper 8 GB iPhone 5C and iPad 4.

According to Daily Star, the Cupertino-based company said it will completely discontinue iPad 2 and will offer iPad 4 tablet in place of the former.

iPad 4 is now available at US$399 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model and US$529 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + cellular model. Apple temporarily shelved iPad 4 last year when it launched its current flagship tablet, iPad Air. Then, the company had cut the price of iPad 2 to US$399 in 2012.

Apple also launched a much cheaper 8 GB iPhone 5C with plastic casing. The handset will be available in Australia, China and some European countries. As it turned out, making an iPhone 5C with a different storage variant was not difficult for Apple. Also, this could yield to higher revenues.

Releasing a much cheaper iPhone 5C will help Apple regain its stance in the market. This is because iPhone 5C was a bit of a flop when it was released in September 2013. But the low-cost handset proved to be more expensive compared to other handsets in the market.

Digitimes reported 3 million iPhone 5c units were still unsold. Two million were stored in Pegatron's warehouses, while 1 million units were collecting dust in carriers' and retailers' shelves. iPhone 5C failed to attract consumers making it harder to sell and yielded poor sales and profits.

According to rumors, two iPhone 6 variants will be coming this year and both versions will come with a bigger screen display. One of the new iPhone 6 models with 5.6-inches screen panel was speculated to enter the phablet category. But both models will pack the faster and better A8 processor, and the upcoming iOS 8. Also, iPhone 5S' TouchID fingerprint sensor will surely receive new features and improvements.

iPhone 6 release date was believed to arrive in June at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers' Conference alongside the upcoming iOS 8. But it may be delayed with the release of iPhone 5C. Other reports claimed the handset will arrive in September or October.