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Lower-Cost iPhone Said to Use 'Super-Thin' Plastic and Fiberglass Shell in 4-6 Colors
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Just to make sure I have this straight, Samsung phones are junk because they are plastic, but a plastic iPhone will be great? I'm confused.
Sigh. Please visit a store and grab a Galaxy and a Lumia. Both "plastic", yet a very different haptic experience. So yes, there is better/worse plastic and you can bet your bottom dollar that the cheaper, colourful iPhone will feel a lot better than a Galaxy. And will be sturdier, if the fiberglass component rumour turns out to be true.
Can you please quote any people that have made that comment? It seems people are quick to rush to the conclusion "oh everyone's a hypocrite now, hated plastic before, now love it!" when I think most people are just saying "whatever, okay cool, more options."
I think the solution for Apple is that they will take the last generation of Iphone and re-engineer them with cost cutting in mind and market them as the low cost Iphone. We call it low cost Iphone, but in reality 300 to 400 USD unlocked price is a mid-tier smartphone. Apple will have to put a very competitive product out. The current set up of selling the last generation product with $100 discount is not going to cut it since it does not meet the price point of the mid-tier smartphone. When Apple (or Samsung) launch their top of the line product, a lot of the components are state of the art and production and cost can be an issue. But once they are out in the market after a year or so. There may be other similar component that are available but at a lower cost. By engineers the mid-price product with cost reduction as a major goal, hopefully the new Iphone can give Apple mid 30 to high 30% gross margin even at a much lower price point.
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typically Apple keep 2 generations of older Iphoned in the market. e.g. with 5 in the market, Apple sell Iphone 5, Iphone 4S and Iphone 4. So when the 5S come out, I would expect Apple will sell 5s, 5, and 4s...
Even the people who get 'Droids for more customization get them in black. If color was a good idea, people would be doing it.
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Who exactly has said that? Both are junk.
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Who exactly has said that? Both are junk.
Lots of people are saying the new Galaxy is junk because it is made from plastic. Check it out.
Not quite, the plastic iPhone will say - "I'm lower-end than the metal iPhone." You can take it from there.
My technically challenged mum is still rockin' the original iPhone 3g. No video, forced landscape mode, slow as hell, can't download most apps, but it works for her. She'd be shocked at the speed of any new bondi low end iPhone. It would seem like an iPhone 10 to her.
Nothing wrong with having a basic model phone imo. Not sure how it will devalue the iPhone name. I'm sorry but the phone is sold at Walmart and also StraightTalk has them along with other smaller carriers. It's not some exclusive phone.
Some people don't don't want to sign a 2yr contract and some don't want to spend $600 either.
I don't get the big deal out of being plastic anyway. I'm sure a great deal of people put their phone in a plastic case that they bought at some mall kiosk or flea market anyway
Some people are just as happy with their Toyota Camry as some people who have the Lexus counter part.
Some people don't don't want to sign a 2yr contract and some don't want to spend $600 either.
I don't get the big deal out of being plastic anyway. I'm sure a great deal of people put their phone in a plastic case that they bought at some mall kiosk or flea market anyway
Some people are just as happy with their Toyota Camry as some people who have the Lexus counter part.
Not with a case on.
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They're right. Plastic sucks.
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Usually putting out colors is a move to get attention... a sign of being desperate. The iMac G3 is a good example. Once Apple got its attention, the iMacs went all white.
So, you want to give up the chunk of cheaper smart phones to Android? Let them build a huge user base, that when they move to more expensive phones will pick an Android phone? A lot of parents will buy their kids a cheaper Android phone. So, you want to ween kids to using Android?
And one thing is sure, HTC, Samsung, etc, won't give up the more expensive segment to Apple. And they will make money from cheaper phones too.
Apple would prefer not to have to choose, but making cheaper phones is a lot better choice than not.
The question is... what will differentiate the "entry-level" iPhone from the "premium" iPhone?
There isn't an extra $300 in the metal body of the iPhone 5... so all this talk of a plastic body shouldn't change the final price too much.
So will they limit features? That's not a good idea either.
Many kids already have iPod Touches and iTunes gift cards are a popular Christmas present. Those kids are already part of the iOS ecosystem.
Besides... I haven't heard many people say "I'd love to get an iPhone... but I'm too invested in the Android ecosystem..."
Android isn't as sticky as you think.
I understand what you're saying... but it's very easy to have an Android phone now and get an iPhone later.
Looking forward to this for one simple reason. I have a Sprint iPhone 5. I can't unlock it for GSM use in the US and I'd like to pay my ETF and go with a pre-paid carrier like Straight Talk, or T-mobile. Buying an unlocked iPhone is out of the question because of price. I can't justify it. But if it were $400 or less, I'd jump on it. I just wish I'd had known this who Sprint issue before renewing my contract. My service is OK, but ST and Tmo here are much quicker even on 3g and I'd be cutting my overall cost. Bummmerr.
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Lol, probably, but I hope not. I was thinking the same thing but with a 4" screen.
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Lol, probably, but I hope not. I was thinking the same thing but with a 4" screen.
I think Apple could do well if they made it with the 3.5" retina screen, it's a damn fine screen, they could make it thin, drop LTE maybe, stick in a dual core A6 CPU and GPU instead of a tri core GPU, keep the ram at 1GB and increase the higher end iPhone to 2GB ram, and they can put in the iPhone 5's camera as I think the iPhone 5S or 6 will get a better one. NFC would be nice too.
I think they need to aim for a target price of 350 pounds? And they could offer it in 16 and 32GB versions.
Now something like this with say a slightly translucent black case would be pretty good.
I think they need to aim for a target price of 350 pounds? And they could offer it in 16 and 32GB versions.
Now something like this with say a slightly translucent black case would be pretty good.
I think you dramatically underestimate the cost to manufacture the iPhone 5's machined aluminum case. It's about much more than the cost of the aluminum. The machines are expensive, and you need a lot of them since each case takes more than a second to make. They aren't just stamping them out with a press.
As an aside, I was visiting with a man in his machine shop who steadfastly refused to believe the iPhone's case was machined. He "knew" that it would be "impossible."
In fact, this occurs in many threads, even if the subject matter isn't related to Samsung!
I don't know. Maybe make the entry level 16gb and the premium 32gb. Lets face it. The price different for the storage levels are pretty silly. Maybe under clock the CPU just a tad. Maybe non retina for the entry and retina for the premium.
I'd buy a non retina phone if it looks as good as my ipad2 screen. At 4" I'm not going to be watching movies on it. I would probably buy a retina ipad mini when they're released for movie watching though and carry around.
That should allow them to keep all the function but still enough difference in the phones.
The low cost Iphone will use different set of components as the premium Iphone. The LCD does not have to be as nice, the processor does not has to be as fast, no NFC, no 13 megapixel camera. There will be a lot more integration under the hood to cut manufacturing cost. The phone may not be flew directly from China to customer during launch. They may all have to come to US by ship and then flew to customer's home. The package may not be as nice. It may not include a headset. The components will be as least as good as 4s and 5 now (remember it won't be launch for another few months, a few months is a long time in high tech industry).
With a premium Iphone, Apple picks the components based on performance characteristics with price being a secondary issue. With a low cost Iphone, Apple will pick the best component base on a set budget. Apple scale should help them get a much better pricing for any components. If Apple retail the low cost Iphone between 300 and 350 for unlock price, they can easily sell 20-25m units a quarter (but it will also cannibalize some high end Iphone sales). Used Iphone price should plummet, i.e. by the time someone is done with the Iphone 5 and they want to sell them in the used market, he will find that he is competing with a new low cost Iphone with similar feature at a similar price (remember by then Iphone 5 will be one or two year old).