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mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
Apple isn't in the business of selling money-losers.....

They'd lose what, roughly $50-75 per phone if they sold at $100 off-contract? That's nuts....not even Amazon would touch those margins.

I always said if they sold the 5C at $350 off-contract, it would've been perfect. As it stands having bought mine for $350 (with the early iPhone upgrade), I love it. It really is a nice device - very well made and comfortable.

An 8GB at $250 off-contract would be pretty great.

no not for $100 total haha. I mean $100 off the normal price, being $350 :)

I fixed my original post b.c it definitely read the way you thought.

Basically if they launched the 5c in an 8gb for $350 it would have sold great.
 

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
Any chance this is to clear materials by selling a cheaper 5C going forward?

8gb will be tight for some but I'd much rather have an 8gb 5c than 4S.
 

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
sorry i just find this pathetic. its enough that apple is still stuck 5+ years in the past with regards to the storage they offer but is offering an 8 gig device the only thing they can think to offer a decently priced phone to market?

what next selling non working devices $50 cheaper just so they can say they offer a wide price range?

and for those that 8 gig is enough then 4 gig is probably enough as well.
 

Corrode

macrumors 65816
Dec 26, 2008
1,003
2,297
Calgary, AB
If this was available for $100 off-contract at launch, I definitely would have bought one.

So what you're saying is, if the iPhone was priced at $449 less than it is now, you would buy one? Ah, good to know.

Edit: I see you edited your post for clarification. I guess I wouldn't complain if there was a $100 off-contract iPhone.
 

The Doctor11

macrumors 603
Dec 15, 2013
5,973
1,406
New York
The only way to do this would be
5s $200
5c $100 16gb
5c free 8gb
That would mean they are discontinuing the 4s tomorrow. I am going to say that this is only a rumor and complete lies. I just dot think apple is going to do it.
 

Frizers

macrumors regular
Jul 18, 2013
105
11
That is quite hard to justify, 16 gb is already borderline when paying such high prices. But having said that, there are plenty of people who just use it for texting and Facebook, not really making the most of what an iphone can do and so there will be people who are happy with it, thereby keeping lower capacities around for longer :'(
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
Another site claims:

8 GB - 520€
16 GB - 570€
32 GB - 630€

at o2, which is funny cuz you can buy the 16 GB one for less than 520€ at some 3rd party resellers already
 

Nikiaf

macrumors regular
Mar 18, 2013
119
288
People desperate for that "low-cost" iPhone may finally be getting it. The decreased storage should lower the price a bit; and maybe now it'll finally sell.
 

mdridwan47

macrumors 6502
Jan 20, 2014
478
777
Seriously Apple ? You should move forward not step back. This is a poor move aesthetic-wise. Business-wise I don't think a lower price will make those god-awful colors any more appealing.
 

hovscorpion12

macrumors 68030
Sep 12, 2011
2,539
2,476
USA
If people didn't want the iPhone 5C by now, what makes Apple think a lower storage will change. its the SAME phone with lower storage and lower price. pointless. If your going to launch two phones do it right. launching the same phone twice with a plastic back is embarrassing. Not to mention laziness.
 

zorinlynx

macrumors G3
May 31, 2007
8,144
17,475
Florida, USA
Flash memory is cheap. VERY cheap. What is the point of an 8GB iPhone 5C? Hell, 16GB is tight as hell; install a few apps and sync some music and you're out of room. 8GB must be torture.

If anything they should be dropping the 16GB and making 32GB the base model. 32, 64, 128. It would be in line with flash memory pricing lately and eliminate the space crunch for low-end users.

WTF is Apple thinking???

----------

People desperate for that "low-cost" iPhone may finally be getting it. The decreased storage should lower the price a bit; and maybe now it'll finally sell.

That's just it, though. The price difference between 8GB and 16GB flash is a couple bucks. There's no reason this should lower the price perceptibly at all.
 

pmz

macrumors 68000
Nov 18, 2009
1,949
0
NJ
sorry i just find this pathetic. its enough that apple is still stuck 5+ years in the past with regards to the storage they offer but is offering an 8 gig device the only thing they can think to offer a decently priced phone to market?

what next selling non working devices $50 cheaper just so they can say they offer a wide price range?

and for those that 8 gig is enough then 4 gig is probably enough as well.

This is nothing new. For years now the 8 GB devices have been the ones to his this price point of $0 on contract.

The cost of manufacturing an iPhone also hasn't changed, even with new models over the years. Apple's decided profit margin has not changed either.

While I do agree with you, to some extent, that it is time for 8 GB to be replaced by 16 GB at their relevant price points, the problem is how the multiples effect the rest of the lineup......as you and I would expect, Apple has established it's $100 increments for doubling storage. This may be easy to cope with at 8 & 16 GB, but get up to 32, 64 and 128.....those levels are not ready to see the same $100 price reduction.

Therefor, the bottom has to suffer until the top can come down too.
 

dumastudetto

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2013
4,990
7,130
Los Angeles, USA
8gb is still a massive amount of storage for most people and will more than fit their needs with the power of iCloud behind every iOS device.

I honestly think current storage in all iOS devices is excessively generous and should be scaled back to boost profitability and help Apple fund future R&D. I only use a few gigs on my devices and could comfortably live within the 8gb world, and I'm an extreme power user!
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
no not for $100 total haha. I mean $100 off the normal price, being $350 :)

I fixed my original post b.c it definitely read the way you thought.

Basically if they launched the 5c in an 8gb for $350 it would have sold great.

HA! Gotcha. I agree - I originally said a 16GB 5C at $350 would be good, so a $250 8GB is where it should fall.

But I think - based on the current pricing, it'll fall at the $0 on-contract/$450 off-contract.

But if you consider the phone that hit that price point before (4S) - its a pretty significant move going to last year's tech versus 2 years ago.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,666
5,879
If people didn't want the iPhone 5C by now, what makes Apple think a lower storage will change. its the SAME phone with lower storage and lower price. pointless. If your going to launch two phones do it right. launching the same phone twice with a plastic back is embarrassing. Not to mention laziness.

I just have to believe you have never held a 5C. It does not feel cheap by any means. Personally, it feels better in hand than my 5s.
 

pmz

macrumors 68000
Nov 18, 2009
1,949
0
NJ
Flash memory is cheap. VERY cheap. What is the point of an 8GB iPhone 5C? Hell, 16GB is tight as hell; install a few apps and sync some music and you're out of room. 8GB must be torture.

If anything they should be dropping the 16GB and making 32GB the base model. 32, 64, 128. It would be in line with flash memory pricing lately and eliminate the space crunch for low-end users.

WTF is Apple thinking???

----------



That's just it, though. The price difference between 8GB and 16GB flash is a couple bucks. There's no reason this should lower the price perceptibly at all.


And, as my above post says, the difference between 64 and 128 is NOT just a couple of bucks....yet Apple still graciously separates all storage levels by a mere $100. Seems extreme between 8 & 16, and seems generous between 64 and 128.
 

Macboy Pro

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2011
730
52
You and I both. I'm just waiting for it show up to pull the trigger on it.

That would be nice. I just hope they don't slim t down by 3MM, solder the RAM and make the storage proprietary, non-upgradeable. How about function OVER slim for a change Apple!
 

Sandstorm

macrumors 6502a
Sep 27, 2011
697
1,714
Riga, Latvia
Bean counters. :(

Memory is cheap and I can only imagine how little it costs for Apple.

16GB should be the bare minimum in today's mobile devices. 8GB (with the actual available space ~6GB) is simply not enough. A couple of large apps, normal amount of photos/videos and you're forced to start dealing with space issues, decisions what to delete and so on. Not at all fun or easy.

If I was Cook, I'd discontinue 4s and just drop the price of the 5c range. And to top if off, introduce Black or "Space Grey" color. I personally know people who specifically like the 5c shape/feel/material, but they don't want any of those childish colours. Of course, I'm not Cook and this is only my humble opinion.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
This is nothing new. For years now the 8 GB devices have been the ones to his this price point of $0 on contract.

The cost of manufacturing an iPhone also hasn't changed, even with new models over the years. Apple's decided profit margin has not changed either.

While I do agree with you, to some extent, that it is time for 8 GB to be replaced by 16 GB at their relevant price points, the problem is how the multiples effect the rest of the lineup......as you and I would expect, Apple has established it's $100 increments for doubling storage. This may be easy to cope with at 8 & 16 GB, but get up to 32, 64 and 128.....those levels are not ready to see the same $100 price reduction.

Therefor, the bottom has to suffer until the top can come down too.

Not true at all - their margins have been dropping for quite some time with the dominance of Android and cheap alternatives flooding the market. Why do you think AAPL struggles? Apple sells more phones each quarter than the last w/ higher revenues, yet their profits remain flat.

Apple no longer enjoys the 40+% margins they used to....and they know it. They have to find ways to sell more phones to meet the profit demands (from a monetary standpoint).
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
Bean counters. :(

Memory is cheap and I can only imagine how little it costs for Apple.

16GB should be the bare minimum in today's mobile devices. 8GB (with the actual available space ~6GB) is simply not enough. A couple of large apps, normal amount of photos/videos and you're forced to start dealing with space issues, decisions what to delete and so on. Not at all fun or easy.

If I was Cook, I'd discontinue 4s and just drop the price of the 5c range. And to top if off, introduce Black or "Space Grey" color. I personally know people who specifically like the 5c shape/feel/material, but they don't want any of those childish colours. Of course, I'm not Cook and this is only my humble opinion.

Tell your friends to get over themselves.

Wasn't aware White was childish :confused::rolleyes:
 

iBreatheApple

macrumors 68030
Sep 3, 2011
2,941
1,016
Florida
Man, they sure are pushing it. Eight gigs is hardly enough for basic users (I'd imagine). With 4GB of 'other' space i don't know what I'd do if I had to manage on an 8GB phone.
 
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