Apple to Discontinue iPhone 5 Alongside Launch of 5S and Plastic Models?

[ThatsMeRight]

My proposal:

16GB iPhone 5S - €400
32GB iPhone 5S - €500

32GB iPhone 6 - €600 - €650
64GB iPhone 6 - €700 - €750
128GB iPhone 6 - €800 - €850

Of course that would be great, but it would totally kill Apple's profit margins. Apple basically runs on the iPhone (and, in a lesser extent on iPad).

This is what it currently looks like (not using Euro prices, as it ranges all the way from €379 to €699).

iPhone 4 - $449
iPhone 4S - $549
iPhone 5 - $649

Now, if we look at the past this is what normally would happen this fall:

iPhone 4S - $449
iPhone 5 - $549
iPhone 5S - $649

I think they are dumping the iPhone 4S and replacing it with an "iPhone Lite" for a few reasons:
- Profit margins (no antennaband, no glass on the back = more profit)
- 4-inch display (so every iPhone sold has a 4-inch display)
- Lightning collector (most iPhones sold today still have the 30-pin connector)

At best, I see them pricing the device at $399 (and maybe $499 for iPhone 5, $599 for iPhone 5S).

 

[praterkeith]

Apple isn't going to care which iPhone people buy.

But I doubt professionals and business people, esp. men are going to want fruity colored phones. Kids will, and that is really the market for the low cost phone.

Also if you look at the range of, say, iMacs they go from $1299 to $1999. Consumers understand what they want if there is clear distinction between models. Price isn't the only factor if they can recognize they get more for paying more.

Finally the iPhones have ranged from $0 to $399 (subsidized) for sometime now. So your point really doesn't bear out reality.

I agree with everything you said, but I'm pretty sure he was simply saying his boss is cheap.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Cross out the word and the meaning hasn't changed, it's superfluous. I wouldn't notice this except it seems every new writer here has the habit...

You mean like this?

Anything can be nitpicked.

No, not like that. There's a difference between good and poor writing. I don't need to be told that most people don't care anymore.

 

[iSteve-O]

Yes, now you'll be able to get a current gen iPhone for $99.

How so? Current gen iPhones are usually $200/w contract (here in the U.S.)

 

[springsup]

Of course that would be great, but it would totally kill Apple's profit margins. Apple basically runs on the iPhone (and, in a lesser extent on iPad).

...

I think they are dumping the iPhone 4S and replacing it with an "iPhone Lite" for a few reasons:
- Profit margins (no antennaband, no glass on the back = more profit)
- 4-inch display (so every iPhone sold has a 4-inch display)
- Lightning collector (most iPhones sold today still have the 30-pin connector)

At best, I see them pricing the device at $399 (and maybe $499 for iPhone 5, $599 for iPhone 5S).

It wouldn't "totally kill" their margins. It would lower them, but they'd still be incredibly profitable with the prices I proposed; absolute profit would likely increase because a small shift in price can lead to a huge increase in volume.

Profit margins are important, but profit is more important. Lowering your margins is not necessarily a bad move. Apple have done it with the iPad Mini, and it's selling even better than the original by most accounts.

$399 + 20% tax = $480 = €363, so the prices are not unreasonable. They'd also need to increase the storage to 16GB, but that's long overdue and shouldn't make a significant difference.

 

[sclawis300]

No, not like that. There's a difference between good and poor writing. I don't need to be told that most people don't care anymore.

I don't know that anyone really ever cared that much. However, I have found that in the age of the anonymous internet everyone is a critic (including me). It is very easy to point fingers and judge when there is no recourse. I don't think personal writing style necessarily equals poor writing/grammar. They wanted to add emphasis and decided to do that with the word 'however'. Not right, not wrong, just his/her decision.

2 cents

 

[lolkthxbai]

Did you forget the 3gs? That iPhone had a plastic back.

Yeah, but right now it seems like a piece of junk because it's slow on iOS 6 and iOS 7 won't support it. Not so much a premium product anymore.

----------

Of course that would be great, but it would totally kill Apple's profit margins. Apple basically runs on the iPhone (and, in a lesser extent on iPad).

This is what it currently looks like (not using Euro prices, as it ranges all the way from €379 to €699).



Now, if we look at the past this is what normally would happen this fall:


I think they are dumping the iPhone 4S and replacing it with an "iPhone Lite" for a few reasons:
- Profit margins (no antennaband, no glass on the back = more profit)
- 4-inch display (so every iPhone sold has a 4-inch display)
- Lightning collector (most iPhones sold today still have the 30-pin connector)

At best, I see them pricing the device at $399 (and maybe $499 for iPhone 5, $599 for iPhone 5S).

But then, by that logic, the iPhone Lite will get dumped in just 1 year... I think there's something missing.

 

[solarguy17]

This makes me wonder about the rumored 4.3" double screen dense display phone. I wonder if we might see
$0 cheap plastic iPhone
$99 iPhone 5S (16gb with a $100 premium for doubling disk space)
$199 iPhone 6(4.3" screen)

I know that's out there and not likely but it might fit with the large screen rumors that have popped up recently.

 

[kmj2318]

kind of like when we had white only drinking fountains???? I don't think that is getting past PR people at apple.

lol, back to the drawing board

 

[TallManNY]

To be a meaningful "cheap" phone, the LC iPhone needs to be far more than $100 cheaper than the flagship iPhone 5S. So expect it free and also, possibly, expect it not for sale in the US.

Also, too bad if the 4 form factor is discontinued since it is (a) very attractive and (b) smaller which I'm sure lots of people actually prefer in their daily driver phone. A 3.5" screen phone made thinner would be very appealing to a lot of people.

 

[macs4nw]

Works out better in the long run in terms of software.

Make sense to me, otherwise why bother to have a cheap iPhone? I think Apple will have ONLY two models, the flagship, and the low cost iPhone. No more discounting the previous year's model.

Makes sense to me too. Simplifying and streamlining the line-up to a certain extent. All phones having the 4" retina display, and the lightning connector; and the flagship phone with the latest processor, graphics, camera and other assorted newer tech, leaving the lower cost model always mostly one generation behind.

Also great of course, for clearing out component inventory.

 

[gadget123]

This makes me wonder about the rumored 4.3" double screen dense display phone. I wonder if we might see
$0 cheap plastic iPhone
$99 iPhone 5S (16gb with a $100 premium for doubling disk space)
$199 iPhone 6(4.3" screen)

I know that's out there and not likely but it might fit with the large screen rumors that have popped up recently.

A larger Iphone might not be for everybody hence the Galaxy mini. If they make a larger phone it would have to be a flagship and would make a regular sized Iphone less popular. Plus who knows how many would jump at a larger phone or go elsewhere? I went upto a 4.3" phone and found it nice for browsing the web but over all too big.

 

[doug in albq]

If Apple can bring a plastic iPhone5-like device to market for less money than it costs to make an iPhone4S - this is a huge win.

The product will sell more, and have higher margins.

It also does something else.
It tells consumers that high-end devices are made of metal.
And low-end devices are made of plastic.

Yes, because right now Apple is telling us that front and back Gorilla Glass and stainless steel are low end and Aluminum is high end, which is possibly making people schizophrenic!

 

[Retired Cat]

To be a meaningful "cheap" phone, the LC iPhone needs to be far more than $100 cheaper than the flagship iPhone 5S. So expect it free and also, possibly, expect it not for sale in the US.

I think this will be the pricing structure:

$400 or free on contract: iPhone color 16GB
$500 or $100 on contract: iPhone color 32GB
$650 or $200 on contract: iPhone 5S 32GB

Etc.

Google sells Nexus 4 8GB for $299, and it has no official LTE. I can't see Apple selling an LTE handset with twice the base storage for this price, but who knows for sure?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[Worf]

I think more likely:

iPhone 5S 16GB - $199
iPhone 5S 32GB - $299
iPhone 5S 64GB - $399

iPhone 'plastic' 8GB - $0
iPhone 'plastic' 16GB - $99

I don't think there's any way Apple releases this at 8gb. Also 16gb plastic IPhone should be $49 at most with contract.

 

[carl0sian]

This is not a good sign for iPhone 4. Will it be able to run iOs 7?

 

[Michael CM1]

I think more likely:

iPhone 5S 16GB - $199
iPhone 5S 32GB - $299
iPhone 5S 64GB - $399

iPhone 'plastic' 8GB - $0
iPhone 'plastic' 16GB - $99

I'm still hoping Apple steps up all storage options. I can't imagine 8GB phones being viable for much since you end up with about 6GB in reality. And I selfishly want the 64 at $299 because I could easily justify that extra splurge.

 

[Toltepeceno]

I'm more curious what the "Cheap" phone will cost off contract. I don't personally know of anyone that's on contract:

Pre-paid customers currently compose 86 percent of the mobile phone market in Mexico accounting for 100 million users.

With iphone 5 costing 825.00 otd from apple and even higher from telcel it's easy to see why it's rare to see one (any iphone) in the wild and unless they lower the price considerably I do't see it making a big difference. I'm talking well under half the price of the 5s and I don't see it happening.

It's funny, everyone in the US seems to think of phones in contract price. If I were to go contract and get an iphone 5 and pay 300.00 us up front it would cost me about 120.00 us a month for 24 months (each phone). That's about 100.00 us a month more than I pay now so that would be a 2,700.00 phone.

Someone making 600. us a month here is in the upper 10%.

THAT's why apple needs a cheaper phone to even make a dent here.

 

[Fainer]

The black of iPhone 5 made of anodized 6000 series aluminum is a complete failure. It scratches at the moment you take it from the box.
Sure iPhone 5 will cease production.

Complete failure? Mine isn't scratched. Maybe take care of your stuff.

 

[winston1236]

If Apple can bring a plastic iPhone5-like device to market for less money than it costs to make an iPhone4S - this is a huge win.

The product will sell more, and have higher margins.

It also does something else.
It tells consumers that high-end devices are made of metal.
And low-end devices are made of plastic.

No. Not really.

 

[MattInOz]

Apple is going to split the iPhone model lineup the way they have split ALL their products. A "pro/full size" model and an entirely separate "mini/base" model.

They did it with the Macs, MacBooks, iPods, and iPads. This is a good thing.

I guess the question is do they keep the iPodTouch in the line up as that was kind of the old product split.

I also wonder, given all the talk late last year of ARM SoC embedding wifi, bluetooth & 3G HSPA+ within the chip for a single chip solution, if Apple has managed to license a library they could use in the A7?

if so the iPhoneLite is really an iPodTouchPhone while the same chip would have cost saving in the iPhone and iPad lines.

I could see line up after next update as outright non-contract pricing
iPodTouch (A6) 32Gb $249
iPodTouch (A6) 128Gb $399

iPhoneLite3G (A7) 16Gb $349
iPhoneLite3G (A7) 32Gb $449

iPhone5s (A7+LTE) 32Gb $699
iPhone5S (A7+LTE) 64Gb $799

 

[stuff4u]

It makes sense. No more iPhone x, each generation only needs.....

iPhone Lite
iPhone
iPhone Max

 

[sulpfiction]

I was in best buy last Saturday chatting with a manager who told me that the iPhone 5 was being discontinued in their inventory database. I asked him to define "discontinued" and he said "as in not being sold anymore". We both thought it was BS, but he said it wasn't likely a mistake. I chalked it all up to BS and haven't thought about it since..Until now.

----------

The black of iPhone 5 made of anodized 6000 series aluminum is a complete failure. It scratches at the moment you take it from the box.
Sure iPhone 5 will cease production.

My launch day black 5 has not a single scratch in the anodizing. And I don't baby my phone. I take care of it. But it gets knocked around daily at work.

 

[Fairthrope]

I'm sorry but iPhone pro sucks as a name (IMHO). Almost as bad as iPad air. They didn't do it with iPads why would they do it with iPhone?

You mean, the name is stuck so why change?

----------

Why do you say that considering the 5S (or whatever they call it) will most likely look just like the 5.

New material for the black back plate would be a good start. I'm willing to throw away iPhone 5 cases if the 5S back plates aren't easily scratched anymore.

Make the new surface wear in like a Zippo lighter for example.

----------

really? People complain like crazy when it comes out and you already want to completely dump the 30pin? what difference does it make? They are still going to have to supply 30 pin to replace ones that get damaged that have already been sold.

I think Apple want to get hi-fi dock makers to move to Lighting. Right now they are dragging their feet and just bolt AirPlay on their old docks. JVC, Yamaha, Harman-Kardon, B&W, even BangOf. None budged.

 

[Rocketman]

Simplification

Simplification of the product line could point to new form factors coming out sooner not later (mid-sized iPhone), as well as a standardization on a game changing technology such as fingerprint security. Or simply on hardware standards that will deprecate iPhone 4, 4S and 5 sooner not later. That would be consistent with Apple trends.

cite:

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/2...sidential-intervention-to-prevent-iphone-ban/

A cease and desist order was issued on several Apple products, including AT&T models of the iPhone 3GS and 4, the iPad 3G, and the iPad 2 3G. The ban did not go into effect immediately, however, as such rulings are given a 60 day window for the White House to intervene. Though Verizon is not directly affected by case as it pertains solely to AT&T products, Milch believes that such a ban would further encourage patent abuse.