Apple's Lower-Cost iPhone to Lack Retina Display?

[profets]

Why? The world loved the iPhone when it didn't have Retina. Did your eyes receive a software update and now suddenly can only see Retina images?

The world loved Blackberrys too. Let's go back to putting physical keyboards on phones while we're at it.

Seriously though, the screen is so important in a mobile device. They sell a $200 iOS device with a retina screen, I'm sure they can make it work with a low cost iPhone.

 

[Oletros]

And that's fine that the subscription model does not work. If people don't want to spend the money or don't have the money then they can buy another product.

Ferrari doesn't make a cheap car so that they can sell to the masses that can't afford their high quality cars. After all, if everyone had a Ferrari it wouldn't be a luxury anymore. For this reason there are so many people that want a Ferrari, or Bugatti, or Rolls Royce, or whatever and can't get them and that is perfectly fine. It makes us all want them even more.

A low cost iPhone may not kill the brand but it certainly doesn't help it.

Yap, Apple will be glad to lose markets like China, Brazil or India.

By the way, car analogies are pretty but wrong. iPhone is not Ferrari. And Ferrari is owned by Fiat, Bugatti and Rolls Royce by Volkswagen

 

[carlgo]

For a long time I was very skeptical of these rumors, however, I am beginning to believe them. I still have trouble grasping the fact that Apple is indeed making an inferior phone just to be cheap, however, as more information is released I can begin to picture this phone and the reasoning behind it, and it seems like a relatively good idea.

It will run the same OS as iPhone. It will have a plastic shell. It will have a 4inch non-retina display. It will use the die-shrunk A5 chip. This is beginning to sound like its not only possible, but actually, not a bad idea. It is making a great phone from older technologies. They aren't just throwing together a crap phone, but taking proven and now more affordable parts, and putting them into this now more affordable device.

A phone made of electronic debris? Wow, the lines are already forming. People don't want to buy a product that is perceived as being for "poor people", even if they are poor.

Apple is now very much identified with "retina" and a screened product without it is thought of as interim or simply second rate to some extent.

 

[Gasu E.]

Steve Jobs was a known liar. he said many things that later turned out to be untrue.

I love this! Are you saying you yourself never lie? Or you have lied, but no one knows it.

 

[JHankwitz]

I predict with 100% that
* when Apple releases new phones, we will know what is included, what they look like and how much they cost
* within days of that happening, photos of the disassembled phones will be posted on the Internet
* people will complain that Apple is not innovative
* photos of Chinese cases for the iPhone 6 tear-drop phone will appear on the Internet

Can we move on now?

And:
* Complaints it's made their old device obsolete
* How Safari is 'snappier', whatever that means
* Apple is doomed
* Steve wouldn't have done or allowed that

 

[transpo1]

How on earth would they market this?

How could they market an iphone with a non-retina display? That would really take some marketing spin, I think.

 

[SirLance99]

The iPad Mini has an 8" screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, like the larger iPad. 7" tablets by and large have 16:9 aspect ratios, which Steve Jobs did not like.

Android is very fragmented. That might or might not be a good thing, it depends on your philosophy of what phones should be like. Steve Jobs loved vertical integration - make the hardware and the software. Yes, some of the oldest iOS devices cannot run the newest iOS releases but most iOS devices do run the newest OS. This is minor fragmentation compared to Android land. I have a Samsung phone that was released this year. It released with Gingerbread (which came out in 2010). Most Android phones in use still run Gingerbread (40% have ICS or JB). Gingerbread is functional but worlds behind iOS (it's really quite bad, actually). Thankfully, Samsung deemed my phone model worthy to upgrade to ICS (I wouldn't have bought the phone if there wasn't an upgrade to ICS) but the phone still shipped with Gingerbread. ICS is pretty decent but still behind iOS (although there are features of Android I like more than iOS).

You bought a new Android phone THIS YEAR with Gingerbread? That is your own fault for not buying a top tier premium Android. Blame yourself for a bad buy.

 

[liveoptimistic]

There's no way they're going to not give it retina display. They've realized after the launch of the iPad mini that Apple's mobile tech has been permanently tied to the retina quality that we know and love. And they're not going to be able to give that up, so they'll have to find cheaper ways to build retina displays, which they are.

 

[paradox00]

There's no way they're going to not give it retina display. They've realized after the launch of the iPad mini that Apple's mobile tech has been permanently tied to the retina quality that we know and love. And they're not going to be able to give that up, so they'll have to find cheaper ways to build retina displays, which they are.

The iPad Mini has been massively successful... what are you talking about?

 

[Syk]

A phone made of electronic debris? Wow, the lines are already forming. People don't want to buy a product that is perceived as being for "poor people", even if they are poor.

Apple is now very much identified with "retina" and a screened product without it is thought of as interim or simply second rate to some extent.

No one thinks the Nexus is for the poor.

All Apple has to do is put the same panel that the iPod Touch uses instead of the iPhone5 screen

The iPhone isn't some class warfare phone. You see them all over the place. The I got one and you don't or can't afford one card could had been used when only AT&T users could get them but you can buy them at Walmart, StraightTalk has them, Cricket for crying out loud and other small carriers sell them. Walk into a public school and 4th and 5th graders have this phone.

It's not something that's unattainable by the masses.

I think Apple will do it.

They'll use the iPod touch screen, heck call it the Iris screen, whatever, plastic body, probably with colors and still have decent specs. throw a no more than $350 tag on it and I bet you they'll sell like a wildfire. So pretty much a 5th Gen iPod Touch with 16GB instead of 32GB with a cellular radio & GPS

You'll still have those that will buy the high end phone for the extra specs and some who just rather sign a 2yr contract and pay $200 out of pocket vs $350

 

[yinz]

If the cheaper iPhone has the same display as the iPhone 5S with a sub $300 price, who's going to buy the iPhone 5S; assuming the screen is as important as some of you say it is?

No one thinks the Nexus is for the poor.

All Apple has to do is put the same panel that the iPod Touch uses instead of the iPhone5 screen
ax
The iPhone isn't some class warfare phone. You see them all over the place. The I got one and you don't or can't afford one card could had been used when only AT&T users could get them but you can buy them at Walmart, StraightTalk has them, Cricket for crying out loud and other small carriers sell them. Walk into a public school and 4th and 5th graders have this phone.

It's not something that's unattainable by the masses.

I think Apple will do it.

They'll use the iPod touch screen, heck call it the Iris screen, whatever, plastic body, probably with colors and still have decent specs. throw a no more than $350 tag on it and I bet you they'll sell like a wildfire. So pretty much a 5th Gen iPod Touch with 16GB instead of 32GB with a cellular radio & GPS

You'll still have those that will buy the high end phone for the extra specs and some who just rather sign a 2yr contract and pay $200 out of pocket vs $350

iPod Touch 5th Gen has the exact same screen as iPhone 5

 

[Syk]

If the cheaper iPhone has the same display as the iPhone 5S with a sub $300 price, who's going to buy the iPhone 5S; assuming the screen is as important as some of you say it is?




iPod Touch 5th Gen has the exact same screen as iPhone 5

Ok but still doesn't mean Apple couldn't find a cheaper panel to use for the screens and I still like my call it the Iris The cheaper iPhone I would guess wouldn't have the same processors as the iPhone.

As for who would buy the 5s vs the cheap iPhone? From the look of this thread it seems like plenty because the thought of buying a cheaper phone is just too much to handle.

 

[Sincci]

I have a Samsung phone that was released this year. It released with Gingerbread (which came out in 2010).

Really, a Samsung phone that was released in 2013 with Gingerbread? Which model is that?

 

[FirstNTenderbit]

And that's fine that the subscription model does not work. If people don't want to spend the money or don't have the money then they can buy another product.

Ferrari doesn't make a cheap car so that they can sell to the masses that can't afford their high quality cars. After all, if everyone had a Ferrari it wouldn't be a luxury anymore. For this reason there are so many people that want a Ferrari, or Bugatti, or Rolls Royce, or whatever and can't get them and that is perfectly fine. It makes us all want them even more.

A low cost iPhone may not kill the brand but it certainly doesn't help it.

You can't be seriously comparing smartphones to a luxury vehicle. Ferrari: limited production, specialized, targeted to exclusive clientele. iPhone: mass produced, mass marketed, a commodity item you can pick up in Walmart while shopping for chips, beer, and flip flops.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting money from the top and bottom of the market. To use your analogy as proof: I can get a $14K Jetta and a million dollar Bugatti from the same company; VAG. I can also get something in between those price points.

Apple is a smartly run company. They understand the iPhone's targeted market is maturing and saturating. They simply want to grow. There's money to be made at the top, middle, and bottom of the spectrum. Why wouldn't they want it?

No matter how much you romanticize it, the iPhone is a tool like any other smartphone.

off topic: Ferrari has always been a luxury car. Never has it been a high quality car by any stretch of the imagination. Fire has a way of negating quality.

 

[M-O]

there has to be some differentiation between the pro and consumer model. i think the display is a big one.

if they give this low-cost iPhone everything the iPhone 5 has, why would anyone get the iPhone 5?

 

[jeffmetanna]

If true, it means more work for us developers. Yet another artwork file to create...

For example, to create a device specific image for an app, you name your files to:

background.png (iPhone 3GS and below)
background@2x.png (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S)
background-568h@2x.png (iPhone 5)
background~ipad.png (iPad 1 and iPad 2)
background@2x~ipad.png (iPad 3 and iPad 4)

Now you need yet another file for 4-inch non-retina screens:

background-568h.png

 

[paradox00]

This. Apple aren't accepting non-retina apps.

Retina apps can have non-retina compatibility.

 

[magicsoft]

not gonna happen

This can't be true, as Apple just unveiled a new policy for the app store stating that no new apps would be approved if they didn't support retina display and the new iPhone 5 as well.

 

[TheRainKing]

I don't understand why some of you are so confused, it all seems pretty logical to me.

The idea of this cheap iPhone is for it to look good and be powerful enough to survive a couple of iOS generations, it doesn't need a retina display to be a good phone. The 3GS is still a decent phone right now and this new phone is obviously going to be a lot better than that.

As for the whole no more non-retina apps. I think that just means that all apps must have compatibility for a retina display, it doesn't mean that they won't work on non-retina displays.

Seriously, whats the big deal?

 

[MacGizmo]

Given that Apple just announced that ALL new apps, and existing app updates must support the iPhone 5 and retina displays, I highly doubt this rumor has any chance of being true.

 

[JayCee842]

Wonder how it will face up against the Nexus 4.

 

[Michael CM1]

Apple is about to require support for Retina devices on all new app submissions. Therefore this would be the dumbest thing ever.

 

[iGrip]

I love this! Are you saying you yourself never lie? Or you have lied, but no one knows it.

I was talking about Steve Jobs. Reread what I said. Do it slowly if need be.

----------

I have a Samsung phone that was released this year. It released with Gingerbread (which came out in 2010).

Which phone is that? Released in 2013 with Gingerbread?

And you bought it? Why?

 

[Mr Fusion]

Logically....this makes zero sense. They just announced yesterday that starting 5/1 they aren't approving non-retina apps. To suggest they would make a device without the screen is just sloppy work by the analyst.

Exactly. Whoever is in charge of posting rumors on the front page has been slacking off.

The first rule of "rumors" is:

They have to be BELIEVABLE!!!

 

[Razeus]

If true, it means more work for us developers. Yet another artwork file to create...

For example, to create a device specific image for an app, you name your files to:

background.png (iPhone 3GS and below)
background@2x.png (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S)
background-568h@2x.png (iPhone 5)
background~ipad.png (iPad 1 and iPad 2)
background@2x~ipad.png (iPad 3 and iPad 4)

Now you need yet another file for 4-inch non-retina screens:

background-568h.png

boo-who. with apple scripts, you can automate that process.