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recoil80

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,117
2,755
"Several months after" means 12 months after, so next year.
There is not going to be a 5.5'' iPhone this fall, that's it.
 

TC03

macrumors 65816
Aug 17, 2008
1,272
356
The different timetables have been set as Apple does not want to repeat the mistake it made in 2013 when it launched the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c simultaneously, said the sources.
Whoah, the stupidty of this source is beyond me.

Besides the fact that no mistake has been made last year, the situation is completely different: the 5S and 5C were available right away, the 5.5" won't be available until later. So how on earth could Apple make the same mistake when the situation is totally different?
 

newagemac

macrumors 68020
Mar 31, 2010
2,091
23
Every time Macrumors posts something from Digitimes, Macrumors itself loses credibility. Arn, please ban the use of them on your site. It's hurting you. Seriously.
 

576316

macrumors 601
May 19, 2011
4,056
2,556
"Several months?" This will not do at all. This implies at least 7 months. That's nearly a year later. I think they'll release the two models at exactly the same time. Consumers are more than capable of making a damned decision between the sizes. They won't compete with each other. Those wanting a specific size will still go for that size regardless of when they're released.

The point is, people who want the 4.7" phone will buy the 4.7" model and those who want the 5.5" phone will buy the 5.5" model...regardless of when these phones come out. Apple will be making a big mistake releasing them at different times. I don't think this rumour has much grounding.
 
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urkel

macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2008
2,795
917
So in order to "avoid competition" within their own product line they will hold back the product that is already two years late?!?

Just because the loudest Apple defenders claimed that 3.5" screens are the "perfect" size doesn't mean we all believed it. Many of us "tolerated" smaller screens because we love iOS and bought the smaller screen because we had no desire to switch. We were simply (impatiently) waiting for Apple to get with the times. And now that they're finally catching up to 2012 then the idea of them holding back to 2015 is ridiculous.

If it's a production issue then fine. But if it's some silly marketing reason then that's a pretty sleazy thing to do to your most loyal of customers.
 

chr1s60

macrumors 68020
Jul 24, 2007
2,061
1,857
California
I personally think doing something like this and staggering the releases of different sizes of phone will hurt sales more than it will help. If I were to buy a phone and 3-5 months later a different version came out, I would be hesitant to buy right away the next time. This can potentially hurt the sales of the iPhone in general. Not to mention people that are ready to get a new phone now, but are borderline on getting a Samsung or a new bigger iPhone, that delay can cost sales by losing that customer to another company. If the 5.5" isn't ready then make it the 6s, don't stagger a release of the same phone in different sizes.
 

Dilster3k

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2014
790
3,206
How can two products from the same company compete? Both fill out different needs for the consumers and all the money goes to the same company anyway..
 

XVentura

macrumors member
Oct 12, 2011
57
0
They might be setting up the sales and marketing of their devices like Samsung does theirs ie. create two unique devices that go on sale at different parts of the year. This way they don't have bottlenecks in production and sales when they release new products and they don't have relatively quiet months where their revenue is much lower than the higher months. The 5.5" phone could be the Galaxy Note version. They might sell it 4-5 months later and have two different releases every year, one for the 4.7" one and the other for the 5.5".

I'm not saying this is the reason for the rumoured delay but it would make sense if they wanted to differentiate the products to prevent sales from cannibalising and to prevent bottlenecks and delays. I know they haven't done it with their other products that have two or more sizes but with phones, the numbers are orders of magnitude different.
 

XVentura

macrumors member
Oct 12, 2011
57
0
Releasing a phone during the March and April time frame would also hurt the competition because all of their major competitors release their flagship phones during that period: HTC, Samsung, Nokia etc.

I'm sure this will be part of the consideration as will the prospect of overwhelming consumers with choice and options and constant updates will also make it less likely for them to choose this strategy.
 

Xylian

macrumors member
Sep 28, 2009
69
0
Only error: overpriced 5C last year

What mistake? Buyers made their decision and they bought 5s over 5c..
The only really big mistake was the price. You can't sell a plastic phone for more than 600 euros when for "just" euros bucks more you get a very well-done aluminium phone. We all know that all their phones are overpriced (I have a lot of apple devices, I'm not an hater) and this is more evident with 5c.. C stands for Colored, but it should have meant Consumer. If it costed at least 150 euros less then it would have been a good choice for the tons of people that for about 450 euros buy really good Samsung/HTC flagship phones.

But at the sametime, there have been (for sure) a good amount of people that made the step-up from the idea of buying the "more economic" 5C to the idea of buying the really-good-looking 5S, which has also some more features.

PS: I hope that the next release will set 32Gb as the new base for premium phones, because 16Gb are definitely really too low nowadays.
 

Lancer

macrumors 68020
Jul 22, 2002
2,217
147
Australia
People will buy the size that suits them, the only reason for the delay is marketing and hype. Some will buy the 4.7 when it comes out and get the bigger one later, even if its only a few months between them.

Right now like always I won't believe the rumors until Apple officially releases the next iPhone and since I have a 5c on 2 year contract I'll be waiting for the 6c anyway.
 

ToroidalZeus

macrumors 68020
Dec 8, 2009
2,301
875
What mistake was made with launching the 5s and 5c exactly? ...

There was a shortage of iPhone 5s--particularly in the white and gold models--with an excess of iPhone 5c units; basically Apple done goof'd and ordered too many 5c units instead of 5s.

----------

Releasing a phone during the March and April time frame would also hurt the competition because all of their major competitors release their flagship phones during that period: HTC, Samsung, Nokia etc.

I'm sure this will be part of the consideration as will the prospect of overwhelming consumers with choice and options and constant updates will also make it less likely for them to choose this strategy.

I think Apple releases their phones in Fall because then they are available for the holiday season.
 

thekeyring

macrumors 68040
Jan 5, 2012
3,485
2,147
London
Would explain the lack of leaked parts. Frustrating though... Does this mean the 4.7" iPhone 6 will be replaced within 6 months (Similar to the third-gen iPad when the mini was released)?
 

MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
I think if true, this is a stupid move by Apple. People are just going to wait now. People didn't buy the 5c not because it was released at the same time as the 5s, but because it was uglier than the 5s, and because it wasn't much cheaper as rumors had claimed.

The 4.7 & 5.5" iphone 6 are basically gonna look the same, ones just going to be huge. Not everyone will want the biggest one. So they'll buy the 4.7" and the rest will buy the 5.5".

However...many will wait to buy, so they can compare the sizes. So delaying the release of the 5.5" is just going to cause them to delay their purchase.

It doesn't make sense to me to delay the release of the 5.5"....especially After Christmas season.

Hope this rumor is false.
 

thekeyring

macrumors 68040
Jan 5, 2012
3,485
2,147
London
They might be setting up the sales and marketing of their devices like Samsung does theirs ie. create two unique devices that go on sale at different parts of the year.

Actually this does make sense: When a MacBook Pro is updated, we don't also expect a MacBook Air update (or vice versa). I guess the iPhone line is broadening that way, too.
 

MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
Actually this does make sense: When a MacBook Pro is updated, we don't also expect a MacBook Air update (or vice versa). I guess the iPhone line is broadening that way, too.

I don't think this is an accurate analogy tho. The MacBook Air & pro are very different laptops. The iphone 6, 4.7" & 5.5" are basically gonna be the same phone but just different sizes.
 

fr33 loader

macrumors regular
Jul 25, 2007
207
0
Unless they are not considering them as of the same model line. Just like Samsung S5 being a separate line from Samsung Note series. That is the only reason I see if they are planning to separate it. Two iPhone model lines. I still can't see Apple giving us 5.5 inch iPhone. that too big of jump for them. Or maybe they are testing the water first with a 4.7 and see how people would react and come up with a 5.5 if its positive after 6 months?
 

phoenix78

macrumors member
Nov 9, 2006
62
0
The 5c failed because it was an appalling product and rubbish value for money compared to the 5s. Nothing to do with timing of release lol.
 

recoil80

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,117
2,755
I don't think this is an accurate analogy tho. The MacBook Air & pro are very different laptops. The iphone 6, 4.7" & 5.5" are basically gonna be the same phone but just different sizes.

iPad Air and iPad mini retina are the same product with different sizes, they were announced the same day
 
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