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OllyW

Moderator
Staff member
Oct 11, 2005
17,196
6,799
The Black Country, England
If Apple had kept the iPhone 5 but knocked off $100 would that be too expensive?

The iPhone 5 still looks like it's a more expensive product than the 5C. Even though the 5C is very well made and doesn't feel cheap and nasty, plastic is perceived to be a lower quality material than the aluminium and glass used for the case of the 5 and 5S.
 

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
I have said before and will say again -- over time the idea of diversifying the product line is a good idea. having at least two lines makes sense to me. I thin over time they will work to differentiate better.

of course but such a small price difference ruins that practice.

hopefully for them they do something about it before 5c is burned into peoples mind as a complete failure
 
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tai.michael

macrumors member
Oct 8, 2008
34
0
Color

While pricing was a major factor in the lack of sales for the 5C, I think also the choice of color of the phones also played a role.

zQ3FHoq.jpg


Look at the difference between the colors on the iPod nano and the 5C. In comparison, the 5C looks less vibrant, less interesting. The base color is less saturated, more brownish in nature. And because it is made out of plastic, it lacks the shiny reflections of the nano.
 

flottenheimer

macrumors 68000
Jan 8, 2008
1,526
649
Up north
Joining the choir.
Apple needs to lower the price of the 5c if they want it to really sell (it is priced too close to the superior 5s).
On the other hand I guess Apple prefers the higher profit margins of the 5s rather than selling more 5cs.
 

giantfan1224

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2012
870
1,115
The c never made sense to me at just a 100 dollar difference.

Why does everyone keep harping on this? Apple never intended for the 'C' to be the cheap or inexpensive alternative. Apple considers and will always consider all their products to be premium.
 

FrizzleFryBen

macrumors 6502
Dec 14, 2009
453
179
Charlotte, NC
I agree that price point is the issue. At $299 off contract I would have bought one, maybe two. The current price is laughable.

Precisely!

This is exactly the problem. Most people in the US don't see the actual price of a phone before subsidies. If people saw that nearly half their monthly cell bill went to pay for their phone (plus a lot more), they would not at all be impressed by saving only $100.

Personally, I think it should be law to disclose what is actually paid for hardware over a 2-year contract. I think a lot more people would opt for paying for hardware upfront.
 

Mudcrutch

macrumors member
Mar 5, 2008
50
21
I bought a white 5c. Great looking phone. Didn't care about the 5S features and I saved $100 to boot.
 

giantfan1224

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2012
870
1,115
Precisely!

This is exactly the problem. Most people in the US don't see the actual price of a phone before subsidies. If people saw that nearly half their monthly cell bill went to pay for their phone (plus a lot more), they would not at all be impressed by saving only $100.

Personally, I think it should be law to disclose what is actually paid for hardware over a 2-year contract. I think a lot more people would opt for paying for hardware upfront.

Right. Because we have to protect stupid consumers. :rolleyes:
 

jumanji

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2003
205
315
Austin, TX
Apple's Executive Boardroom meeting:

"I just don't get it. People want the phone from last year with a few slight improvements way more than they want the phone from last year with a colourful plastic backplate... why is that?!"

Disclaimer: I LOVE the build of the 5C, but it's simply the wrong price for what it is.

correct - the concept of a cheaper iphone is not a bad idea. it just is priced wrong. $50 max...
 

ISanych

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2013
182
131
UK
This prove it that people are willing to pay for products and the price is not an issue.

Price is an issue. Not for 5S, but for 5C. If you are buying a phone for a full price difference is too small, and not many people want outdated phone with a long contract.
 

Scott6666

macrumors 65816
Feb 2, 2008
1,487
936
If they lower the price of the 5c all they will do is cannibalize 5s sales and lower the overall margin. Better to sell fewer 5c's if the nest result is to push buyers to the 5s.
 

Orr

macrumors 6502
Oct 8, 2013
363
50
As many here have already stated, the price point for the 5c is the main problem. Especially for developing markets which it is primarily geared towards. I strongly suspect Apple will have price drops across the board for the c beginning early next year to increase product differentiation. They would have been selling like hotcakes if they had initially been offered starting at $25 on contract and $400 unlocked.
 

scotty321

macrumors regular
Jun 4, 2003
229
181
I think the iPhone 5C is a beautiful phone... I love how it looks and feels!!

I would have totally bought it this year (at any price) if it had an A7 chip, a fingerprint sensor, and a better camera.

Because it didn't have any of those things, I went for the 5S.

In other words, I wish Apple made the 5S in colors.
 

ThunderRobot

macrumors regular
Aug 10, 2008
200
5
Glasgow, Scotland
I think a lot of folk are missing the point of the 5c.

The 5c isn't for early adopters. It's (generally) not for folks who frequent tech forums. It's for people who are renewing their contracts.

I suspect we'll see the 5c sales grow over the next year or two as normal people renew their contracts - in the UK it can be picked up for less than £50 on a new contract and for a lot of people that's an incredibly affordable price point which may be more attractive than the android equivalent.

There is, I think, a longer term strategy in place here which is being overlooked.

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't rush to judge at all.
 

peb123

macrumors member
Feb 14, 2010
69
2
Didn't Microsoft gloat that the 5c was copying their phone?

Apple just proved that no one wants a Microsoft phone!
 

Exponent

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2002
261
632
Silicon Valley
I think the 5c's problem is twofold: the price, and the hideous colors done with the black face. Here's a mockup I did of something simple to correct the latter:

boldColorsNotPalePastels2-small.jpg
 

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
Apple's Executive Boardroom meeting:

"I just don't get it. People want the phone from last year with a few slight improvements way more than they want the phone from last year with a colourful plastic backplate... why is that?!"

Disclaimer: I LOVE the build of the 5C, but it's simply the wrong price for what it is.

which is what? it's a mid-range phone, priced in the mid-range. apple said clearly that they dont do cheap, low-budget product categories.

the sort of customers who decide to buy something in the mid-range arent going to care that it's "last year's tech". are you forgetting that for the past 5 years apple rolls the last-years-phone into the #2 spot? the 5 becomes the second-tier, the 4S the third-tier.

nothing has changed. at all.
 

CallOfDuty

macrumors 6502
Jun 23, 2012
330
2
Why does everyone think excess supply equates little demand?

Been to Singapore recently, was curious about the hottest selling smartphones currently at that period at carriers. Guess what ? The Blue iPhone 5C was the hottest, beating out even the galaxy note 3. Of course, total sales may still go to the 5S, but due to supply constrains the 5S might be selling at a slower rate than it is expected to. But yes i do admit, demand for the 5S still exceeds the 5C.

Think of the demand for the 5C as the same demand for the 4 when the 4S came out. Its still rather popular, but not at a rate people stereotypically expect of Apple.

If you dont believe me, you can check out a carrier's website in Singapore here.

and here. This site states almost all the colours of the 5C (as of this time) are selling fast .

And fyi, from my knowledge the people in Singapore are the ultimate smartphone junkies. They are almost willing to pay the high price for any hot phone .
 

elgrecomac

macrumors 65816
Jan 15, 2008
1,163
162
San Diego
This one is obvious....

If people wanted to buy the old iphone 5, they would have bought the old iphone 5.

What I always find amusing is when the local Fanbois flame anyone who speaks ill of Apple, but there were many who did so regarding the 5C. I, and many others, remarked about the 5C being a re-branded 5 and hearing "Sir Jony I" use the words "unapologetically plastic" well, it sounded like an apology then and it still sounds like one today. And the person in Apple's marketing department should now have to, well, apologize for the use of that phrase.

Don't get me wrong: Apple makes the best computers, tablets and phone in the marketplace, but even a great company sometime gets it wrong...and they did, by rebranding an old model and calling it (like a breakfast cereal) new and improved.

And here is the great parody about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGoq36UX6IY

"Those who want this product have never seen a mall kiosk before". "The very first iphone for commoners".


:cool:
 
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iamtrip

macrumors newbie
Apr 8, 2010
16
0
When the 4S was released, people still bought the 4 because it looked the same as the newer model. At least, if you are sitting at a bar, on a bus, on a train, on a plane, nobody would know that you "cheaped" out and bought the slightly older model.

This time around, the slightly older model is flurescent pink, blue, green or yellow and screams out "look, I couldn't afford the top end product." I am not surprised that people might want to pay a little bit extra to get the higher status version.

If the 5C was $200 cheaper than the 5S, then I can see that people might opt to buy it (because at that point it really is targetting a different 'budget' smartphone market). However, at the price points Apple has chosen, I can understand why 5C sales are lagging.
 
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