Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Skika

macrumors 68030
Mar 11, 2009
2,999
1,246
Apple doesn't need to use solar energy to power their data centers. All they have to do is use some magnets and field coils to harness the energy from Steve Jobs rolling in his grave.

He never would have let this fly. I think we're really seeing the start of decline of Apple without his leadership.

In five years they will be manufacturing the same cheap crap as everyone else.

Ah yes here comes the "steve wouldn't approve".
 

PDFierro

macrumors 68040
Sep 8, 2009
3,932
111
I do have to wonder about the storage options with this. Will Apple just release one model at 16GB? Guess we will have to wait and see.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
This could be a better option than the daft chip and scratch attracting iPhone 5, could be a more durable device. But it does depend a lot on it's internals, I think it will have the iPhone 5 camera and hopefully sapphire lens cover too, but if it has a lower power SOC then the iPhone 5 it won't be worth it I don't think.
 

sclawis300

macrumors 65816
Apr 22, 2010
1,472
196
This is my thought as well. Something along these lines:

iPhone 5C 16GB - $0
iPhone 5C 32GB - $99
iPhone 5C 64GB - $199

iPhone 5S 32GB - $199
iPhone 5S 64GB - $299
iPhone 5S 128GB - $399

The slight price overlap makes you decide what is more important, more storage or a better phone, which is very Apple like. :cool:

I think you will have to replace some of those numbers for the 5C. More like 8, 16 and 32.
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
This is my thought as well. Something along these lines:

iPhone 5C 16GB - $0
iPhone 5C 32GB - $99
iPhone 5C 64GB - $199

iPhone 5S 32GB - $199
iPhone 5S 64GB - $299
iPhone 5S 128GB - $399

The slight price overlap makes you decide what is more important, more storage or a better phone, which is very Apple like. :cool:

meh you can get the iPhone 5 for 1€ on a decent plan here and they even wire a onetime payment of 200€ to your bank account ;) they are that desperate to get customers here :cool:
 

JohnGrey

macrumors 6502
Apr 21, 2012
298
557
Cincinnati Metro
I do not know why it is unfortunate. It would not make sense for Apple to make two identical phones with the only difference being the material used in the body.

I agree with the other poster. This will use technology used in the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch.

Agreed. The whole point of the 5C was to provide a low cost price point for the iPhone line. Certainly a polycarbonate shell is going to mitigate some cost in relation to the standard milled aluminum body, but most of the cost in a phone is in the components. There's no way that Apple could afford to deliver 80 - 85% of the premium phone for 50% of the cost.
 

jmerchlinsky

macrumors member
Jun 22, 2007
47
0
Washington DC
The goal here seems to be to consolidate screen size and dock connector (and maybe increase margins) at the subsidized $0 cost point. This is not a phone targetting emerging markets. May have also been a hedge against the overturned Samsung ruling on importing the AT&T iPhone4.

Apple is neglecting a huge and growing market segment. You can see that in the latest numbers showing the msmartphone market growing by 50% and Apple's sales only growing at 20%. It is a missed opportunity to get more cost conscious first time buyers into the Apple ecosystem.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Agreed. The whole point of the 5C was to provide a low cost price point for the iPhone line. Certainly a polycarbonate shell is going to mitigate some cost in relation to the standard milled aluminum body, but most of the cost in a phone is in the components. There's no way that Apple could afford to deliver 80 - 85% of the premium phone for 50% of the cost.

No, the point of the cheap iPhone is it is for emerging markets, not Europe and America but places like China etc. So it remains to be seen where the phone will be sold.
 

Deepshade

macrumors regular
Mar 22, 2010
237
39
This is getting boring

And on what planet is £320 low cost?

Apple iPhone 4 8G on PAYG is £320. Certainly not paying that for a plastic phone.
£175 - £250 maybe?

Verdict - usual Apple story lately - just too expensive - just too late to be innovative anymore.
 

Jimrod

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2010
1,199
659
I still think this should just simply be the new iPhone - the aluminium with hard-anodising is brittle and prone to chipping, the glass panels look out of place to allow the wifi signal through - this plastic body is simply more elegant, likely more durable and more practical.
 

osofast240sx

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2011
2,539
16
Current gen (contact / off-contract):
iPhone 4 $0 / $450
iPhone 4S $99 / $549
iPhone 5 $199 / $649

Next gen
iPhone 5C $0 / $450
iPhone 5 $99 / $549
iPhone 5S $199 / $649

This removes all 3.5" screens and 30-pin connectors. It will be interesting to see the storage size of the C, since the current iPhone4 you can only get with 8gb, and I can't imagine them shipping a brand new product with 8gb. Maybe they'll surprise us and finally shift up default storage sizes.
iPhone 5 will be discontinued.
 

smiddlehurst

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2007
1,228
30
I think the consensus here is that this thing will have iPhone 5 specs.

If it does (and I agree that would make the most sense) I wonder what we'll see on the 5S... The 4S made sense because the price gap between it and the 4 wasn't huge and the 3GS was a big enough drop in spec and design to make the cost difference justifiable. The 5C however is looking like it may be the equivalent to the 4 with the price gap of the 3GS. Assuming for a moment that the 5C does come to the rest of the world and not just developing markets (which is, AFAIK, still unknown) a 5S would need a *big* jump in a couple of areas to justify the price difference.

So I'm wondering if we're about to see a big jump on spec. Apple are on their own path with the CPU so lord knows what they'll do there but timing is about right to introduce the next gen Power VR GPU. Even with that though, and again assuming that a 5S is improved internals in the same shell, you feel that it does need something a bit more relevant to the non-gamer. Big jump in the camera module might make sense but I haven't heard of anything suitable in production?

Certainly going to be very interesting to see what Apple reveal later this year!
 

ssspinball

macrumors 6502
Aug 6, 2008
348
174
We have been patiently waiting for over nine months for a new product release from Apple. How proud they must be to give us last years model in cheap plastic. Apple is amazing.

:rolleyes: It's a low-end iPhone. It's not meant to replace the flagship iPhone 5!

Look at the competition: Even Samsung's flagship models are cheap plastic.
 

csyk2

macrumors newbie
Jun 4, 2013
1
0
500 bucks ?

In China, many buy the phone outright without 1 or 2 year contracts.

Why? Phone numbers are a dime a dozen and people can buy telephone numbers without contracts at any convenience shop or news stand. It's simple.

There ARE contracted telephone numbers, but for many Chinese living in the mainland, they pay a monthly fee (which is dirt cheap) while paying for only what they use (phone and internet time).

So, if those people are looking for a phone, $500 US is very very high.

I thought the 5C would be priced around $300 for the phone. This has "fail" hovering over it.

I work in China and I gotta say, $500 is upper middle class for the Chinese. And those are seriously in the minority of the population in any city in China.

$500....

I'm seriously scratching my head.

The tax in China is much higher and included in the price. A 16gb iPhone 5 is 5300 Yuan in China ($868), however, it is only 649 here. So if it is 3000 Yuan in China for the cheap iPhone, I would say US price will be around 360$.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
No. Just no.

Really?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-5...heading-to-emerging-markets-this-year-report/
http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/why-would-apple-produce-a-cheap-iphone/
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/0...t-iphone-for-emerging-markets-late-this-year/

I could go on but needles to say if you don't trust the Mac Rumors story then you are set in your beliefs. Why would they sell a low cost phone in markets they are already raking massive profits and market share from with the full strength iPhone? Yet they are loosing sales in emerging markets where a low cost iPhone makes sense and will help increase sales and market share.
Can you not see that?
 

JohnGrey

macrumors 6502
Apr 21, 2012
298
557
Cincinnati Metro
No, the point of the cheap iPhone is it is for emerging markets, not Europe and America but places like China etc. So it remains to be seen where the phone will be sold.

Emerging markets, by definition, exhibit a lower per capita income than first world nations, usually more than 10% but not more that 75% comparatively, so by extension an iPhone for an emerging market is one intended to be purchased at a lower cost. I made no comment concerning who would buy the phone, simply where its price point fell in relation to the normal iPhone and why it not be able to offer the same internal components.
 

polee

macrumors 6502a
Jul 22, 2008
689
458
Honestly Apple, if this is innovation, then I really have nothing to say... You must have run out of ideas. Be prepared for further erosion of the share of your smartphone market by the likes of Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, and Sony.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.