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.
I agree.
To me, I follow tech news every single day. It's in my blood. I know the difference between the 4, 4S, and 5.
I took my girlfriend into a Sprint store a few months ago to help her buy her first iPhone ever. She's a smart, well-educated professional, 33 years old, and I consider her pretty well-informed with general news...
...until she waltzed in and wanted the iPhone 4 because it was free. I explained to her that the 4S and 5 have more features, will last her longer with OS updates, offer Siri virtual assistant, turn-by-turn, etc.
"But it's still an iPhone, right?"
I ended up just giving her $100 to buy a 4S. As a geek, I couldn't allow it.
For the people commenting on this forum, the iPhone models are obvious. For the non-techies out there, many people really have no clue. I don't think it's a bad idea to offer two simple choices: a cheaper-material but still powerful iPhone and a higher quality material, most powerful iPhone.
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I think more likely:
iPhone 5S 16GB - $199
iPhone 5S 32GB - $299
iPhone 5S 64GB - $399
iPhone 'plastic' 8GB - $0
iPhone 'plastic' 16GB - $99
Well, I hope they make the standard 32GB, going up to 128GB...but you're probably right.
This would be INCREDIBLY simple to the common, non-techie consumer.