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904799

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Jul 31, 2014
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Here is what the next generation iPhone #c would look like (in orange):

iphone_5c_6_161318063811_640x360.jpg


It Apple really going to discontinue the all iPods or not?
 
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talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
332
Oregon
16GB iPod Touch -- $199
16GB iPhone 5C - $549

Somehow, I think not!

A $350 price cut on the 5C to be a iPod Touch replacement is highly unlikely. Their margins aren't that high to begin with and Apple never participates in the "Race to the bottom".
 

HarryWild

macrumors 68020
Oct 27, 2012
2,043
710
I think the profit margin is higher for the 5C then that of the metal 5S. The 5S is reported to be in the high 55%.

Could not find the 5C margin; but it made of plastic case and last generation components of the 5 buy it only $100 less then the same storage 5S.
 

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,056
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
They won't. It's going to take another five years before that. The Nano and Classic are EOL, but the iPod Touch will be staying. People on message boards telling you they haven't bought one isn't a good way to measure sales.

And I think the main problem for the iPod is really that everyone has decided that their kids should be using a phone by at least the age 10 now. That wasn't the case when the iPhone originally came out.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,420
12,432
16GB iPod Touch -- $199
16GB iPhone 5C - $549

Somehow, I think not!

A $350 price cut on the 5C to be a iPod Touch replacement is highly unlikely. Their margins aren't that high to begin with and Apple never participates in the "Race to the bottom".
Their margins for iPhones are high and I believe is one of the largest among their various product offerings. That said, no I don't think we'll see the 5c replacing the iPod Touch this year. However, come next year, I think it's quite possible for Apple to continue selling the 5c (or a cut down version of it) for around $350 which is around iPod touch territory as a downmarket phone (for prepaid, emerging markets, etc).
 

talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
332
Oregon
I think the profit margin is higher for the 5C then that of the metal 5S. The 5S is reported to be in the high 55%.

That would make the manufacturing cost $247, so as an iPod Touch replacement they would lose $48 for each sold ("but they make it up in volume" :) ).

However the iPod Touch certainly costs much less to manufacture than the 5C, so why give up any profit at all?

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Their margins for iPhones are high and I believe is one of the largest among their various product offerings. [...] I think it's quite possible for Apple to continue selling the 5c (or a cut down version of it) for around $350[...]

If history is any guide, if they continue to sell it they will only sell the 16GB model and knock only $100 of the price (or $450).
 

NewbieCanada

macrumors 68030
Oct 9, 2007
2,574
37
Can someone smarter than me please explain something to me (preferably in words of two syllables or less)?

The difference between an iPhone and an iPod Touch is basically a SIM drawer, chip and antenna, right?

I know there are some really cheap unsubsidized phones out there, so how much can these components cost, considering those phones also have batteries, speakers, microphones, displays, etc?

So why does an iPhone cost so much more than an iPod Touch? I understand that some components in the Touch are lower quality than used in the iPhone, but still, couldn't they make a Touch with phone capabilities for $50 more if they wanted to?
 

zorinlynx

macrumors G3
May 31, 2007
8,170
17,694
Florida, USA
Can someone smarter than me please explain something to me (preferably in words of two syllables or less)?

The difference between an iPhone and an iPod Touch is basically a SIM drawer, chip and antenna, right?

At minimum to be a phone: SIM drawer, receiver speaker, two more mics, larger battery, cellular chipset + antennas.

iPhone 5C vs iPod Touch: A6 CPU instead of A5, twice the memory.

Also, it's not just the chips. Apple has to pay the licensing fees to use the cellular technology. This isn't cheap.
 

talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
332
Oregon
So why does an iPhone cost so much more than an iPod Touch? I understand that some components in the Touch are lower quality than used in the iPhone, but still, couldn't they make a Touch with phone capabilities for $50 more if they wanted to?

One would think so since a feature phone can be bought for less than $50 outright. But if the plastic 5C costs $247 to make and Apple makes a good profit on a $199 iPod Touch in a metal case, it would appear not.

There, nothing more than two syl'bles.
 

sonicrobby

macrumors 68020
Apr 24, 2013
2,482
526
New Orleans
This is highly unlikely as this would require users to get a monthly contract from a cellular provider to purchase at a discounted price, otherwise they would be paying the full price of the phone ($550 ish). And it is unlikely apple will discount the 5C to $200 or anything close to it as they would probably be taking a big loss in profit if they do so. Aside from that, the iPod being thinner is a huge + and I dont see them replacing the ipod with a thicker device.
 
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Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,035
8,405
New Hampshire, USA
Can someone smarter than me please explain something to me (preferably in words of two syllables or less)?

The difference between an iPhone and an iPod Touch is basically a SIM drawer, chip and antenna, right?

I know there are some really cheap unsubsidized phones out there, so how much can these components cost, considering those phones also have batteries, speakers, microphones, displays, etc?

So why does an iPhone cost so much more than an iPod Touch? I understand that some components in the Touch are lower quality than used in the iPhone, but still, couldn't they make a Touch with phone capabilities for $50 more if they wanted to?

Read the teardown on the iPhone and Touch. The Touch has similar components but internally is much more cheaply made then the iPhone (all of the components are lower quality). They could make a Touch with phone capability but it would eat into their iPhone sales.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,420
12,432
If history is any guide, if they continue to sell it they will only sell the 16GB model and knock only $100 of the price (or $450).
I said come next year (and I expect they'll likely cut some more corners if they do). This year, I expect an iPhone 5c 8GB will replace the 4s 8GB as the $0/$449 iPhone.
 

SpyderBite

macrumors 65816
Oct 4, 2011
1,262
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Xanadu
I'd like to see a 5.5" iPod Touch replace the current line up for the same pricing.

Won't happen. Not soon anyways.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,420
12,432
I think the profit margin is higher for the 5C then that of the metal 5S. The 5S is reported to be in the high 55%.

Could not find the 5C margin; but it made of plastic case and last generation components of the 5 buy it only $100 less then the same storage 5S.

That would make the manufacturing cost $247, so as an iPod Touch replacement they would lose $48 for each sold ("but they make it up in volume" :) ).

However the iPod Touch certainly costs much less to manufacture than the 5C, so why give up any profit at all?

I saw a teardown on iSuppli of the iPhone 5, 5c and 5s and apparently copied the estimates to a spreadsheet on my computer.

Estimated Manufacturing Cost with Labor

iPhone 5 16GB $206.85
iPhone 5 32GB $217.25
iPhone 5 64GB $238.05

iPhone 5c 16GB $173.45
iPhone 5c 32GB $182.85

iPhone 5s 16GB $198.70
iPhone 5s 32GB $208.10
iPhone 5s 64GB $218.30

A margin of 55% doesn't necessarily mean that the iPhone 5s 16GB with MSRP of $649 costs $247 to manufacture. You have to take into account that resellers, etc. are getting a chunk of that MSRP. It's also quite likely that carriers are paying Apple less than the $649 MSRP. There's also R&D to consider.

The above are estimates during initial release. Apple has probably been able to cut costs by now and likely even more so come next year.
 
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talmy

macrumors 601
Oct 26, 2009
4,726
332
Oregon
I said come next year (and I expect they'll likely cut some more corners if they do). This year, I expect an iPhone 5c 8GB will replace the 4s 8GB as the $0/$449 iPhone.

It won't drop again next year because that would imply Apple would be selling three generations of phones at the same time. In any one market that isn't what Apple does -- they keep the choices simple.

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A margin of 55% doesn't necessarily mean that the iPhone 5s 16GB with MSRP of $649 costs $247 to manufacture. You have to take into account that resellers, etc. are getting a chunk of that MSRP. It's also quite likely that carriers are paying Apple less than the $649 MSRP.

Doesn't matter what the 55% is of. The iPod Touch also has a margin and doesn't cost anywhere near $199 MSRP to build. A $199 iPhone is not going to happen as long as Apple can maintain it's image as a high-end product company.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,420
12,432
It won't drop again next year because that would imply Apple would be selling three generations of phones at the same time. In any one market that isn't what Apple does -- they keep the choices simple.
Actually, that'll be four generations of phones if they do. :)

Doesn't matter what the 55% is of. The iPod Touch also has a margin and doesn't cost anywhere near $199 MSRP to build. A $199 iPhone is not going to happen as long as Apple can maintain it's image as a high-end product company.
I don't think they'll go down to $199 but I think a $300-350 iPhone is feasible sometime in the future. As for the iPod Touch, from memory, estimated manufacturing and labor costs for the iPod touch 4th gen was ~$150. That's not too far off from the iPhone 5c. Heck, I reckon the iPad Mini probably costs around the same to make as the 5c and yet it sells for $299. :rolleyes:

Apple has released the Nano, Shuffle, iPad Mini, Mac mini, MacBook Air and still managed to maintain their image as a high end company. Releasing a lower end iPhone (or maintaining the older model as the downmarket version) won't be any different.
 
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