One of the first "cheaper iPhone" rumours stated it would have iPhone 5 internals....if I could find it I would but its late here.
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...but with a plastic back and rounded edges.
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Apple's Low-Cost iPhone Design Said to Be Mix of iPhone 5 and iPod Touch with iPod Classic Curves
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One of the first "cheaper iPhone" rumours stated it would have iPhone 5 internals....if I could find it I would but its late here.
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...but with a plastic back and rounded edges.
S4 isn't released.
The A6 is more advanced and crushes the Galaxy S3.
The iPhone is more compact and does better with battery.
Samsung is playing catchup all around, and rumors say S4 is going to be even more bloated and super-sized, up to 5inches.
By the time the S4 is launched, iPhone 5S will be around the corner ready to reclaim spec crown... not that Apple really plays into that much, just us geeks.
I would just release the iPhone 3G enclosure with updated specs and screen and sell it for half the price off contract, $100 subsidized. So much of the cost of these phones is the enclosure. Apple went from plastic to glass to aluminium and I'd argue that with each change there are more problems. I know "plastic" is practically profanity on this board, but no one was complaining when the new iPhones were plastic. Now with glass and aluminium there have been so many complaints.
Eh, people still argued and fussed over plastic too. "Is my 3GS plastic cracking? Are there small invisible cracks?" "The plastic scratches so easily!" etc. etc. - same stuff they said when it was glass and now aluminum too, lol.
Plastic iPhones were by far the most durable though...
I don't know what everyone finds so hard to believe about this...seems pretty simple to me. They're trying to phase out the old screen size and old connectors. Sounds pretty Apple to me. If it looks anything like these mockups I'd be impressed.
While it's almost certain that Apple is working on an iPhone "LC", that doesn't necessarily mean it will be released anytime soon, or ever.
IF Apple launches it, they also won't necessarily roll it out worldwide. The main rationale for an iPhone "LC" is to improve iPhone footprint in the developing world: China and India mostly, and perhaps other third world markets including Africa.
Those are markets that do not lend themselves well to the current iPhone main business model: subscription contract and subsidized handset. Therefore, the iPhone "LC" would be mainly targeting consumers who opt for prepaid with an unlocked, full-property handset. Such product would not get much traction at a price point above US$ 300 - 350.
So if that product happens, while it would be of robust quality and performance, it will probably sport an older CPU generation, 512MB RAM as well as a low capacity flash drive (16 or even 8 GB) and be stripped of some features, like LTE, retina display and so on, and I wouldn't expect it to be available in markets like North America, Western Europe and Australia/NZ.
Just my 2 cents.
IF Apple launches it, they also won't necessarily roll it out worldwide. The main rationale for an iPhone "LC" is to improve iPhone footprint in the developing world: China and India mostly, and perhaps other third world markets including Africa.
Those are markets that do not lend themselves well to the current iPhone main business model: subscription contract and subsidized handset. Therefore, the iPhone "LC" would be mainly targeting consumers who opt for prepaid with an unlocked, full-property handset. Such product would not get much traction at a price point above US$ 300 - 350.
So if that product happens, while it would be of robust quality and performance, it will probably sport an older CPU generation, 512MB RAM as well as a low capacity flash drive (16 or even 8 GB) and be stripped of some features, like LTE, retina display and so on, and I wouldn't expect it to be available in markets like North America, Western Europe and Australia/NZ.
Just my 2 cents.
What does the competition offer in that price range? I did a quick search and I could only find 2-3 year old models from Motorola and HTC, and a couple of old BlackBerry. Is this really a market that Apple is targeting? 3 year old smartphones and dumb phones?
yea my mistake on that low of a price range.
i still think they will target between 200-300 though. but i am probably way off on that
Yep. And guess what, carrier subsidies are going away in the U.S., too. Apple is trying to get ahead of the curve, because big changes are coming:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Hints-at-Possible-Handset-Financing-122906
Smartphones under $300 are basically 2-3 old models or very bare-bone devices with 1-2GB of storage, a 2-3 year old CPU, 480×800 screen and a crappy 1.3 MP front camera. I'm not sure you could run a lot of apps, or even iOS on that kind of hardware. Even the iPod shuffle has more storage than that.
At $450 you can get an HTC One X without contract, which is a pretty good value for the price. You can also buy an unlocked iPhone 4, so basically, Apple is already present in this price range.
Well the 32GB iPod touch here in the UK is currently £249. So my guess would be that the new low cost sim free iPhone would be around the £299 mark. Be interesting to see if its an additional product line or if it replaces the selling of the previous generation(s). I really doubt its an emerging market phone though as they would have to make too many compromises. At the end of the day a £300 iPhone is much cheaper than a £529 one!
Are you serious? Iphone 4s are the worse. The front and back are prone to breaking. Ive known quite a few people who have shattered iphone 4 screens and backs. Iphone a little bit better but then there is the issue of scratches if yoy don't have a case.
This wouldmt be the first Mac product that hasent survived ling enough to market....i wonder if this is just an experimental case or something
There's no need for this.
If only the 6 had a 5" or bigger screen. Bring on the Math, but, you know, with a better name, like iPhone Meanie* or something.
The real value of this rumour is to get competitors doing really dumb things, in the meantime. I hope it succeeds. I trust Apple isn't going down this road.
If you want a phone for emerging economies, make the bottom of the line 8GB and sell 32, 64 and 128 GB devices. You don't even need to keep the 2-generation-old models around, then. Simplify production lines.
It's not rocket-surgery.
* Make it a really cool Blue and do a Beatles crossover deal??
- 5S in March, 5 and 4S make fine budget phones
- 6 in October, 5S and 5 become budget phones
If only the 6 had a 5" or bigger screen. Bring on the Math, but, you know, with a better name, like iPhone Meanie* or something.
The real value of this rumour is to get competitors doing really dumb things, in the meantime. I hope it succeeds. I trust Apple isn't going down this road.
If you want a phone for emerging economies, make the bottom of the line 8GB and sell 32, 64 and 128 GB devices. You don't even need to keep the 2-generation-old models around, then. Simplify production lines.
It's not rocket-surgery.
* Make it a really cool Blue and do a Beatles crossover deal??
Maybe
Come June:
New iPhone 5S/6: $649 unlocked (or $200 with contract)
Current iPhone 5: $499 unlocked (or $50 with contract). I think Apple need to keep this guy attractive so they will probably discount it $150
iPhone X: $399 (or free with contract)
iPhone X will probably have a 4 inch screen, A5 like many said, HSPA+ (no LTE), and will probably be a bit thicker than the 5s.
Why $399? It is a fathomable price. It is a mid-tier (not cheap) phone so it can't be $199. the iPod touch 32 GB is $299, so I don't think it's a far stretch to add a 3G cell chip and drop the memory to 16 GB for $399.
Come June:
New iPhone 5S/6: $649 unlocked (or $200 with contract)
Current iPhone 5: $499 unlocked (or $50 with contract). I think Apple need to keep this guy attractive so they will probably discount it $150
iPhone X: $399 (or free with contract)
iPhone X will probably have a 4 inch screen, A5 like many said, HSPA+ (no LTE), and will probably be a bit thicker than the 5s.
Why $399? It is a fathomable price. It is a mid-tier (not cheap) phone so it can't be $199. the iPod touch 32 GB is $299, so I don't think it's a far stretch to add a 3G cell chip and drop the memory to 16 GB for $399.
This is exactly what I'd expect from Apple - they don't put "cost" at the centre, it just happens to be something as a result of what actually defines the device. This makes the most sense of anything I've read.
What'd be really interesting if this happens is to see what happens to the whole VOIP and cellular markets and the stranglehold the big telcos have on us all - imagine people starting using VOIP and FaceTime and Skype and others on a grander scale, all those internet connected devices would instantly become "phones," which is what a lot of people want (people shouldn't be demanding a bigger phone, they really should just demand "phone capabilities" in all devices, regardless of size).
I don't pretend to know exactly "what Steve would do," but if I had to guess, he wouldn't do this. Whether thats a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but much of Apple's success in Steve's second term was because he eliminated superfluous product categories and iterations.
Eliminating superflous products is a good thing, it allows the key resources to be focused on the important products. So the question becomes, is a more affordable iPhone an important product? I argue that it is the most importnat product for Apple's future success. They have saturated the market for $500 phones. The only opportunity for growth is to bring iOS to a larger segment of the population.
Not only it a more affordable phone critical to Apple's growth, it is just as critical to their relevance. If their share of the smart phone ecosystem continues to erode, they will eventually lose viability as a platform in many markets. Not in the US, they're very strong there as long as the subsidy model dominates. But in every other market their position is under attack by the Samsung/Android combo. Even relatively wealthy Europe is showing ominous signs of slipping market share. Lose market share, lose app development, lose relevancy.
Apple needs to decide whether to protect short term margins or to continue to be the disruptive force they were when they unvelied the original iPhone. If they limit themselves to $500 phones they will go the way of RIM and Nokia.