It’s embargo day! Go read up on the new iPhone 5S and 5C, maybe from this list compiled by Apple Insider.

Also, it’s hump day.

When considering the relationship of the all-but-confirmed iPhone 5C to the rest of the iPhone family, I think you can look to the historical relationship of Apple’s consumer and professional portable line.

The 12″ iBook and the 12″ Powerbook where very closely related, sharing similar specs and form factor. Later, the 13″ Macbook and 13″ Macbook Pro would also share the close relationship of specs and form factor their predecessors had. Typically the largest differentiator of the two lines was in materials, with the pro line using aluminum and the consumer line using polycarbonates (plastics). I believe the iPhone 5 and the 5C could inherit that relationship, using largely the same internal components, differentiated by the same materials choice of the prior portable line: aluminum or polycarbonate.

That being said, I think the 5C could look like something of a cross between the 5th generation iPod Touch and the iPhone 5. The premise being that the price of the iPod Touch ($299) plus the standard added price of cellular for iPad ($129) could equal the price of a theoretical iPhone 5C. This would also be very close to the price point of the two year old iPhone (currently the 4), which is $450. After last year’s introduction of the iPad Mini at the odd price of $329, iPhone using the $429 price point seems quite possible. This would throw the traditional marketing idea of mentally ending prices with 99 (E.g. $299 or $399).

Others have stated very smart reasons why the time is right for a shake up in the iPhone family, such as emerging (unsubsidized) market opportunities like China, standardizing the lineup on the lightning port, bringing LTE to the entire lineup, and discontinuing the 3.5″ display size. These all seem logical and likely reasons to me.

One area of speculation I have not seen has been what happens next year with the iPhone 5C. Does Apple maintain the three iPhone strategy, or does it change or adapt that strategy? What opportunity is there next year with a 5C at $329? Or the year after that? Could Apple really hit a $229 price with a full featured, albeit 2-3 year old iPhone? Would a previous generation iPhone replace the majority of the iPod line? This is all without considering the ever-present calls for and rumors of an even larger screened iPhone. The next two years could be very exciting and unpredictable for the iPhone family when considering price, size and materials alone.

It is assumed that while the iPhone 5C will come in a variety of colors, it will be limited in other options to simply the number of available skus. Most are assuming that there will only be one or two storage options (8GB/16GB) with the colors (white, blue, green, red, yellow). Looking again to the iPod Touch lineup, the face of the unit is white. The leaked pictures of the iPhone 5C however show a black face for all of the colors. This is somewhat of a surprise, after iOS 7 seemed to be favoring white over black. Perhaps again, this is a move to reduce costs (the white iPhone 4 production was delayed significantly).

Turning to the expected iPhone 5S, the “S” could be for sensor or security if the rumored fingerprint reader is true. Also intriguing is the somewhat late rumor of gold champagne anodization as a new color option. Along with another late rumor of a deal with China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless network operator, what if the gold champagne iPhone option was a carrier exclusive? It could help drive tremendous sales on an untapped market for the iPhone. This would represent another step away from the norm for Apple.

Whatever Apple has decided on, I look forward to hearing what they have to say on September 10th and Septemer 11th.