What's funny is that Apple is the only one that DIDN'T say 5c is supposed to be cheap

And people have a bad habit of believing the rumour trail as gospel and not waiting for the mouth of Apple to speak. Then they cry when what they believe is not what Apple ends up doing.

Kendo said:

There is all this talk about how the 5c is supposed to be cheap and an entry level phone into emerging markets or for newcomers. But the funny part is that all of this "cheap talk" came from blogs, websites, and the media.

Why is everyone blaming Apple for not making a cheaper phone when Apple themselves (you know, the company that is actually responsible for making the phone) never came out and said they were making a cheap phone?

I feel like the reason why they made the 5c was to bring back color into their products. The only reason why we think at all that they were gonna release a cheap phone is because this is what the media and rumors sites said.

Click to expand...

You've just proven that you're that much more intelligent than half the Macrumors population. People need to learn that until Apple confirms something directly, it is merely a rumour/speculation. Some other third party can report something, sure, but that doesn't make it a fact. It seems like everyone here thinks that this site is called, MacFacts and that everything posted on here has been confirmed to be 100% accurate.


And that is my rant of the day.

Apple don't create the hype, maybe their silence can enhance it. But we're all to blame. - I feel sorry for Apple, and that's why PR give the WSJ and AllThingsD reports to set expectations.

We need the excitement back again.

You clearly don't understand business. Of course a company isn't going to come right out and say "Hi, we are launching a cheap phone for poor people".

Also, if it's not a cheaper model why does it cost $99 compared to the "flagship" iPhone at $199?

Come on, take off the blinders.

You're exactly right. All we've been hearing the past few months is that Apple would be launching a cheaper iPhone aimed at emerging markets in order to slow down marketshare gain that the cheaper Android devices are experiencing there.

Then Apple announced the price yesterday and confirmed that they're not concerned about marketshare but rather about profit margin. It's good business on their part. The only ones that the iPhone 5C is cheap for is Apple.

Reminds me of the iPad Mini last year when everyone was saying Apple was going to price it around $250 to compete with cheap Android tablets like the Kindle and Nexus 7 only to be shocked when Apple announced the price of $330.

Apple knows what they are doing and going by the iPad Mini sales it's working. Probably will workout well for them with the 5C too.

Actually... great point OP.

When has Apple ever used the word "Cheap"? It's not in their vocabulary

Isnt $99 a good cheap price for a low end smart phone?

http://www.phonearena.com/news/10-c...f-2013-edition_id46380#10-Samsung-Galaxy-Star

I didn't expect it to be cheap. I knew it would be over $500. If you know about apple, then you should know they dont do cheap. Expecting a sub $500 iPhone is not living in the real world.

Kendo said:

But that's the point. It isn't a cheap model, just cheaper...which is fine...there is always a low end and a high end when it comes to electronics.

But the way blogs and media were writing about the 5c was as if Apple was practically going to give away these phones which is why there is an uproar about how the phone isn't dirt cheap ($550 vs $650 unsubsidized when compared to 5s).

They never said they were releasing a cheap phone. Just a lower end model (ie. older iPhone 5 components) with color and a high end flagship (the 5s)

Click to expand...

It's completely ridiculous that people are upset that the 5C is $550, as if Apple ever said it would be less than that. They are ascribing the talk from some blogs to Apple and that's silly.

With that being said, it should be at least $50 less than it is...flash storage aside (which Apple makes a huge profit from), old iPhone models used to be $100 off and use the same high-quality construction. Now Apple saved a bunch of money on constructing the phone and still have it for $100 off...that doesn't seem reasonable. A price of $450-500 would have been reasonable IMO.

At that price, Apple would be making a very healthy profit. The iPhone 5 I'm pretty sure cost around $200 in materials and labor IIRC. Obviously there's R&D on top of that but even at $450-500 Apple would have been making money hand over fist on the 5C.