Apple Announces Colorful New iPhone 5c, Starting at $99 on Two-Year Contract

[jaw04005]

Oh really?

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I thought the same thing with all the Lumia talk. Also, there was an iPhone 3G and 3GS with polycarbonate plastic backing years before the Lumia.

With the ChinaMobile deal there could be a special lower price, and given their unique cellular standard (TD-SCDMA), their version of the device will not be black market-able outside of the country, or even their network.

I wondered this too. According to the talking heads on CNBC today, Chinese customers are using 2G or 3G phones and not LTE. I could see Apple making them a 2G/3G only special SKU that's cheaper.

I guess we will find out in the morning.

 

[mommabean]

help!

So for someone that doesn't own an iPhone yet...and my contract is up so time to upgrade...do I want the free 4s or the 5c? I've read the comments here and I fit the bill of a young mom and I do love the colors. Don't need manly here. I can do the extra $100 for the 5s, but is it necessary? The fingerpad lock doesn't do a darn thing for me.

 

[Lindsford]

So for someone that doesn't own an iPhone yet...and my contract is up so time to upgrade...do I want the free 4s or the 5c? I've read the comments here and I fit the bill of a young mom and I do love the colors. Don't need manly here. I can do the extra $100 for the 5s, but is it necessary? The fingerpad lock doesn't do a darn thing for me.

5C doesn't have the finger unlock, I'd spent the extra $100 and get a better phone, better camera and it will be relevant with updates for a longer period of time.

 

[AtomicGrog]

So for someone that doesn't own an iPhone yet...and my contract is up so time to upgrade...do I want the free 4s or the 5c? I've read the comments here and I fit the bill of a young mom and I do love the colors. Don't need manly here. I can do the extra $100 for the 5s, but is it necessary? The fingerpad lock doesn't do a darn thing for me.

Imo the fingerprint is worth the extra.... with my phone locking every few mins it would be a godsend...

 

[CedarPoint182]

Not a fan of the colors. They appear too pastel-y for my liking, though maybe they'll appear different / better in person.

And while I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to owning a plastic iPhone (I don't actually think the iPhone 5C looks all that cheap), I agree with others on here that spending $100 to upgrade to the far superior 5S seems like a no brainer. You get the A7 processor, a better camera, and Touch ID--which I'd argue is well worth the upgrade cost. And yes, I realize that $100 is a lot of money, but I don't think it's all that much when taken in context of a phone investment (which between the device and contract will cost you hundreds begin with).

And those cases... Ouch! I wouldn't use one of those if it were free. I guess I'm not "colorful" enough to appreciate them.

 

[Mainsail]

I don't care for most of the color choices. I guess the white and blue are ok. The plastic doesn't bother me at all, since I protect my phone with a plastic case anyway.....most people do the same.

I think the ID feature would be very nice, since I always use a lock screen for security. If the 5s camera is significantly better, I will be more interested, since I take most of my pictures with my phone. Nevertheless, I am not sure if these features are worth $100.

I wonder if some people would rather have extra storage space, since from a cost perspective: iphone 5c 32GB = iPhone 5s 16GB?

 

[captain kaos]

That's a guarantee that I'll be picking up a Nexus 4, if they're still in stock, if Apple is going to even consider a price that high.

They really dropped the ball with that contract pricing. They should have shown us what they're capable of without one for the rest of the world. There is one outside of the United States.

Try $739AU for the 16GB 5C.......Yikes. No deal from me thanks. For the same price i can get someone to purchase and post a Moto X from the US.

 

[bhags8]

$100 is a big deal for those who are unable to understand the total cost of the phone including the 2 year contract and the second hand value of it.

Maybe it says something about the state of education in the low taxed unregulated US?

Edit: Or maybe it says something about the low wages in the US?

Actually it isnt a big deal. I buy all my phones at full retail to keep my unlimited data. I actually PLANNED on buying a 5C because I WANT A PLASTIC phone and LIKE the colors. BUT I realize that it would be STUPID! to buy a 5C for $100 less than a 5S. I could buy a iPhone 5 for less than the 5C which is basically the same phone from what I see. This might have turned me to go another year with Android. I wanted an iphone but want plastic, this price point is stupid and Im not even close to a cheapskate.

 

[zhenlek]

Designed by Apple in California. Inspired by Nokia Lumia.

Nokia Lumia...inspired by iPod nano....

 

[MH01]

First of all, your UK pricing is due to taxes, laws and regulation from your socialist overlords.

Cool story bro.

I thought it was just down to apples greed!?!?!? Not sure how our laws and regulations are forcing apple to maintain thier extremely high profit margin.... Geez!

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Nokia Lumia...inspired by iPod nano....

If your blind or seriously drunk.... Sure...

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Try $739AU for the 16GB 5C.......Yikes. No deal from me thanks. For the same price i can get someone to purchase and post a Moto X from the US.

Yard the 5c is a total ripoff for what you get. Look like apple got burned on scuff gate and is trying to get thier money back on the same phone in plastic with a premium price of aluminium. The htc one is so much better value.

The 5c should have been a cheaper option you got for your kids. Shame apple positioned it for kids that go to elite private skills with rich parents

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And the 50+ crowd that's a little less nimble with technology and prefers something "rugged" over something stylish.

I agree. It'll sell like crazy. The funny thing about this thread and all the complaining is that this is exactly the phone everyone was expecting. But the people posting here are the quintessential example of a vocal minority. This was an excellent, profit-boosting move on Apple's part.

Everyone is complaining about the price. No one knew the price before yesterday.

I believe it's the minority that believe the price is right.

 

[batchtaster]

Looks cheap. Feels cheap. Is cheap.

You haven't even touched one yet. Those who have have claimed that it feels unusual, has a different quality than any other plastic they've ever touched.

I suggest you speak from actual experience and facts rather than making junk up based on assumption.

I believe it's the minority that believe the price is right.

So you speak on behalf of everyone else in the world, then? Brave.

 

[Wiesenlooser]

Try $739AU for the 16GB 5C.......Yikes. No deal from me thanks. For the same price i can get someone to purchase and post a Moto X from the US.

That price is severly screwed up , mate. Here in Germany its 599 €...

thats 800 US Dollar or 855 Australian Dollar.

buying that phone would be the first time Id really feel ripped off by Apple (besides the usual 29 bucks for these adapters)

 

[clibinarius]

Did Apple ever state it would be anything different than past years?

Last I checked it was the news sites saying this for the last year or so...

And this article STILL calls it that.

Apple doesn't say anything until they officially market. Your comment has nothing to do with the fact I'm asking low cost to who here.

 

[dirtymagician]

Makes me wonder is this Apple testing the water for future plastic backed ios devices?

The ipad 4c or ipod touch 5c, all plastic backed in various colours and all featuring last years internals.

I'll reserve judgement until ive seen the 5c up close but i can't forsee me wanting one of those mental coloured things, i'll keep my ip4 rolling and see if the ipad event has anything that interests me.

 

[TXCherokee]

Seriously? The S4 is a beast of a phone. I don't like plastic either but to compare the 5C to the S4 hurts your credibility.

No, it doesn't hurt my credibility at all.

My sample size is small, but I have a group of friends, 12 to be exact, and we all have either the IP5 or the GS4 and we have friendly discussions and comparisions quite often when we get together. In fact, it's fun and interesting when one of us comes up with some new test. Overall, we have found that the phones perform very similar in a multitude of tasks in speed and accuracy. In our observations, the only thing the SG4 does better is integrating the various Google services a little better while the IP5 is usually faster in opening apps.

That said, the 5C is basically the IP5 with a bigger battery, plastic case, and compares well with the GS4....and is $100 cheaper.

 

[NightFlight]

Ridiculously stupid move by Apple.

The beautiful iPhone 5 looks FAR better and is around the same price. Why would a consumer pick this polycarbonate phone that looks like a child's toy over the iPhone 5? This is cheaper for NO ONE but Apple to produce. I thought they were talking about a low cost device, $550 off contract isn't inexpensive at all.

What a joke.

 

[LeandrodaFL]

The new iphone 5C case:

 

[john123]

Bigger battery .. okay
Bigger plastic .. not sure what it means, but I think it's a bad thing?

Aesthetically, sure. Practically, it's fine.

A6 is an older tech no wonder it should costs lower. How about keeping the same iPhone 5 nice form factor and sell it for $100 less? Like iPhone 4 when 4S was released? Not really a compromise and everybody's happy.

Because it's a lot cheaper to do things this way, and this is a company that's seen its stock price be hammered by margin compression. Plus, for anyone who really cares about the aesthetics that much, it provides a temptation to spend the "only $100" that people keep talking about and splurge on the 5S. It's kinda brilliant, actually. *And* it sets up a longer-term business play down the road starting next year where you do have your lowest-cost model in a plastic casing. So in the long-run, it's actually super brilliant.

And most of my point stays. What's the point of even sell a 5C when it only costs $100 less, made of garish-colored plastic, and missing out niceties like dual LED, Touch ID, and nicer camera?

See above. You say "$100 less", but practically, that just means that users who can't stand to be without that stuff will simply spend "$100 more." It's a win-win.

It needs to be cheap, like $399 cheap to compromise so much and pinpoint its target market.

And here's where you're completely off-base. This thing will sell well. Many users don't care that much about the features you mentioned. They're fine with plastic. They enjoy cutting the upfront phone cost in half.

All you've done is written a solid argument for buying a 5S for yourself. You haven't really made any points that actually suggest the 5C won't be a huge success, or that it wasn't a pretty clever business decision.

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Ridiculously stupid move by Apple.

The beautiful iPhone 5 looks FAR better and is around the same price. Why would a consumer pick this polycarbonate phone that looks like a child's toy over the iPhone 5? This is cheaper for NO ONE but Apple to produce. I thought they were talking about a low cost device, $550 off contract isn't inexpensive at all.

What a joke.

For the reasons stated above, you are 100% wrong. It's a ridiculously good move.

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Everyone is complaining about the price. No one knew the price before yesterday.

I believe it's the minority that believe the price is right.

Um, this was precisely the lineup and prices everyone was expecting on the "consensus summaries" on the various rumor sites before yesterday.

Your argument presumes a whole bunch of things—that the complainers are the target market, that this really was intended to be a "low cost" iPhone to penetrate certain developing markets today, etc. I'd posit that many of those assumptions are incorrect.

 

[Eidorian]

Try $739AU for the 16GB 5C.......Yikes. No deal from me thanks. For the same price i can get someone to purchase and post a Moto X from the US.

http://fudzilla.com/home/item/32470-cheap-iphone-is-still-too-pricey-for-china

http://vr-zone.com/articles/apples-iphone-5c-costs-700-china-india/55708.html

Now these prices are scary for the emerging market.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

Fair point on stock price. I should have considered that. As for S3 vs. 5C, is it objectively better? I am not sure. I have obviously never used a 5C, but the S3s that I have been able to play with have been quite nice. I used the S3 as a comparison basically as a this is how much last year's tech costs now. Is that fair, not sure. But I am not sure it is fair to compare the 5C to the S4 either.

If the comparison is last year's flagships it would be a fair comparison 5C vs S3. The thing is that these phones leapfrog each other in terms of raw specs and benchmark scores. S3 destroyed the 4S and then the 5 (and in turn the rebranded 5C) came out and did the same to the S3. The S4 put the 5 to shame and now the 64bit 5S gave that right back to the S4 in spades. I personally enjoy how that plays out, it pushes both companies and platforms to innovate. Then it is a matter of personal preference as far as OS is concerned. Don't even want to go there...

 

[MyopicPaideia]

Cool story bro.

I thought it was just down to apples greed!?!?!? Not sure how our laws and regulations are forcing apple to maintain thier extremely high profit margin.... Geez

- 20% added in the UK for VAT (Americans call that sales tax, and this is NOT included in the price you are comparing to as it is regulated on a state by state basis. You don't even pay sales tax if you order online from "out of state" i.e. are a resident of a different state than the company's registered address.)

- Import/Export taxes and fees. We don't live in a world of free trade (let's not get into that debate here though).

- Fixed foreign pricing. Apple sets its prices in different countries conservatively (from their point of view) in order to hedge against exchange rate fluctuations for the coming fiscal period.

Those three factors easily account for the higher prices around the world than in the US. There is nothing sinister about it unless you are morally inclined to think that a business maintaining a consistent profit margin across the globe in order to perform for their stockholders is by nature evil, but that is a whole other discussion.

 

[peteullo]

It already is free...

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It wasn't announced when I posted that. Thank you sir for the fashionably late statement!

 

[trip1ex]

Not everyone resells their phones, or does so through optimal channels. Additionally, upfront costs matter to many people an awful lot. As I stated previously in this thread, $100 is $100. The contract is, frankly, irrelevant. That's almost as non-sensical as saying that your cell phone contract is "nothing" because it's a tiny fraction of what you pay on your mortgage.

No. It makes sense because the contract includes a subsidy for your phone and they are intertwined.

It makes sense because if you can't afford an extra $100 up front for your phone then you shouldn't be entering into a $2k 2 yr phone contract.

It makes sense because you get something worth $100 more on the back end of your contract while getting to use a better phone.

Again I can see the 5c being a personal choice just not a financial one.

 

[GurkhaRifle]

what??????

I think this is a low-end iphone with not so low price.$549 starting price,what????????

 

[john123]

No. It makes sense because the contract includes a subsidy for your phone and they are intertwined.

It makes sense because if you can't afford an extra $100 up front for your phone then you shouldn't be entering into a $2k 2 yr phone contract.

It makes sense because you get something worth $100 more on the back end of your contract while getting to use a better phone.

Again I can see the 5c being a personal choice just not a financial one.

You just spewed a bunch of rationalizations. It's still $100. Comparing it to the cost of the contract is silly. The question is, for each individual user, whether the marginal utility of the extra features and aesthetics is worth $100. For many, the answer will be no.

Also, your logic about "affording" the contract is flawed. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. An extra $100 in lump sum makes a difference to some people. Many are on a budget. Again, just because it isn't a choice you would personally make doesn't mean it's a "wrong" choice for others.

Frankly, the only compelling point you have is resale value. But many people don't resell their phones, or do so promptly. Often they are handed down to kids, friends, etc. And once again, $100 today is worth more than $100 tomorrow. That's a central concept in economics and finance, and in the context of constrained household finances, it's especially true.

Nothing is stopping you from buying a 5S. Apple will be thrilled if you do. Heck, I even think that's part of the point. This is a beautiful example of product differentiation in luxury goods (despite claims to the contrary, this stuff is still nowhere near commodity economics). All I'm saying is that a ton of people will find the 5C attractive. You get the same screen and power as the top-of-the-line from two days ago at half the cost (subsidized), or $100 less unsubsidized. Really, what's to complain about? I don't get it.

EDIT: One thing I'll add that changes the dynamics a bit is AppleCare. I was going to get my dad a 5C, but since he definitely wants AppleCare, that by itself may nudge me to get him a 5S instead. I trust the logic is clear and obvious here, but if not, let me know.