According to a research note recently published by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, Apple will likely introduce a low-cost iPhone model in June this year; thereby addressing the iPhone’s biggest hurdle pertaining to the cost of the hardware.

In her Friday research note to the clients, Huberty – noting that the cost of device-plus-service plan stands in the way of iPhone’s incremental adoption in both developed markets like the US and emerging markets like China - said: “We expect Apple to launch new iPhones in June that offer both a lower total cost of ownership and new functionality, potentially including gesture-based technology.”

Though Huberty has not elaborated on the “gesture-based technology” feature of the imminent low-cost iPhone model, it is being presumed that it is the advances disclosed in some recent Apple patent filings that are implicitly being referred to.

These advances may include a touch-sensitive bezel that would convert the new iPhone’s outer edges into intelligent “sense lines” for providing quick and easy access to the users’ favorite applications; and a few camera-based swipe controls to facilitate one-handed control over a range of iPhone functions.

Furthermore, it is also likely that the introduction of a low-cost iPhone model will coincide with a cut in the price of the iPhone 3GS – more so as Apple had slashed the price of iPhone 3G when it launched the 3GS model last year.