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Apple to Restart iPhone 4 Production for India, Indonesia and Brazil
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Every other person now owns an iPhone in India. Ever since Apple decided to ramp up their sales in India with attractive offers, everybody has one.
Not so poor after all.
last time i went to Bangalore all i saw was Blackberries
4 years ago it may have cost Apple $188 to make the iPhone 4 but today it may only cost them $80 based on how old the tech is. It could still cost Apple over $120 to make the iphone 4s based on the cpu and camera modules alone.
Just look at the Moto G for $179 retail. No way Motorola is losing money on a no contract phone and that phone is far superior against the iphone 4. I would even say the Moto G is superior to the iPhone 4s. I think we are starting to see critical mistakes first hand. Chasing customers with old technology at today's prices is a recipe for disaster.
I completely understand what you're saying. Bottom line is Apple has higher profit margins than Samsung and they want to keep it that way, no matter what. That's why they're being a dick when it comes to Asia.
Same here. Havent seen NOT one 5c anywhere. The only time i see those in the wild are on the big ad signs by the roads and thats it.
True. I still regret the day i installed ios7 on it
Exactly.
And for good reason.
If the average MacRumors' posters "vision" were to be believed, then:
a) the iPod will be a disaster (another MP3 player..? Who will pay that much for an MP3 player?)
b) the original iMac is a disaster (What?? No Floppy? No ADB? Apple has gone too far!)
c) OS 9 is better than OS X (OS X: another UNIX attempt by Apple... A/UX was bad; this is worse! No future for UNIX in Apple)
d) Apple should never enter the mobile phone market (too crowded already, no way Apple could be competitive)
e) PPC to Intel switch would end Apple (there goes the "uniqueness" of Macs: "Throw up in mouth a bit")
f) ... etc (surely more disasters to mention)
Not that we're all idiots here, but we shouldn't think we have better vision or better ideas than the Apple execs.
I've seen plenty of them (New York City area). And businesses buy them too for some reason (usually the white one
I know at least one company that is "scared" of the fingerprint sensor so they buy 5c's.What bubble? You make no sense. Very small number of people have access to iOS 7.1, of course everybody else is going to complain about 7.0 on iPhone 4. What exactly do you expect people to talk about instead? If you never had access to iOS 7.1, you would be saying the same thing right now about how it's buggy and full of issues.
The fact of the matter is, iOS 7 sucks ball on iPhone 4. I know, I played with it on my sister's iPhone 4. I could not understand how they could release such a horrible update for it.
It doesn't change the fact that Apple went ahead and released such a horrible build that it is taking them more than 3-4 months to fix it properly in iOS 7.1. The fact that you said the same thing happened for iOS 6 only proves the point that Apple's willing to repeat the process, who's to say it won't happen again with iOS 8.
Apple's QA has gone down the crapper on everything related to software, they're rushing everything for no apparent reasons. They're losing the battle and eventually, they're going to start losing customers all over the place. Google's Android have nowhere to go but up, they've improving all over the place. This is the only battle that Apple cannot lose.
Apple has a consistent track record as to when iOS devices are dropped and iPhone 4 is very close to being next as well. They're only going to keep iPhone 4 supported for one or two more years. If you say iOS 7.1 works great, then hopefully, they won't mess it up again.
5c is cheaper to make than the 5, 4 and 4s survived at discounted prices.
On this note, I think 5c and 4s are both $100 higher than they should, Apple's lineup should be:
5s: $199 on contract ($650 full)
5c: free on contract ($450 full)
4s (India / Brazil / etc..): $350 full
4 shoudl continue to rest in peace
Yes but the ASP (average selling price) two years ago was similar to now, and if anything Apple's profit margins may have been higher.
I actually liked the build quality of the 4 and even the weight. It was a solid phone.
What I didn't like was how cumbersome the screen replacement was. It would be interesting to see an iPhone 4 with the 5 resolution.
I agree, the 5c should be their free phone and they should completely discontinue the 4s from north america/europe.
What I didn't like was how cumbersome the screen replacement was. It would be interesting to see an iPhone 4 with the 5 resolution.
I agree, the 5c should be their free phone and they should completely discontinue the 4s from north america/europe.
last time i went to Bangalore all i saw was Blackberries
That guy is living in his own sweet bubble in India. Majority of people own 50$ Nokia's and Micromax stuff. Even BB's you saw were in Bangalore, 60% India lives in villages,and half the population can't afford to put food on their table.
And he thinks 'masses' and 'everyone' has an iPhone lol. My fellow Indians amaze me really with their delusions about the country !
Looking forward to the 4c.
You'd have to be brave to suggest that after the 5c, wouldn't you?
I think the 5c numbers are good, and it's selling better than the 4S did last year. I agree that you'd expect it to do better as we get further through the cycle, but it's just not as visible as everyone expected.
I do know a few people who would have gladly traded up from a 5 to a 5c, just for the look/colours/feel of the newer model. Thankfully, they won't be off contract until later this year, and I get time to explain the situation.
iOS 7 is pretty sluggish on 4 hardware, and you'd expect iOS 8 to be much more so. I wonder if iOS 6 is an option?
Alternatively, boost the trade-in programme and re-manufacture old iPhone 4 devices back to new (including but not limited to - new glass/case and battery), to sell in appropriate markets.
You'd have to be brave to suggest that after the 5c, wouldn't you?
I think the 5c numbers are good, and it's selling better than the 4S did last year. I agree that you'd expect it to do better as we get further through the cycle, but it's just not as visible as everyone expected.
I do know a few people who would have gladly traded up from a 5 to a 5c, just for the look/colours/feel of the newer model. Thankfully, they won't be off contract until later this year, and I get time to explain the situation.
iOS 7 is pretty sluggish on 4 hardware, and you'd expect iOS 8 to be much more so. I wonder if iOS 6 is an option?
Alternatively, boost the trade-in programme and re-manufacture old iPhone 4 devices back to new (including but not limited to - new glass/case and battery), to sell in appropriate markets.
I'd love to see Apple go on the offensive and do a phone trade in plan. It would fit with their "green" image. They could continue to offer the 5C to other countries and get the discount in via a phone trade in.
The subsidy model of selling phones is dying, so Apple needs a way to offset the costs of their devices.
What they need to be doing is finding a way to drive down the cost of their parts through innovation. There is a cost of keeping the 16 gig model the base model for too long. As much as it drives iCloud purchases, or even 32 gig purchases, massive purchases of 32 gig models need to become standard.
Bringing back an oddball screen ratio wouldn't make sense for Apple's manufacturing optimization. I'm pretty sure they want to at least take their iPhone displays to the 16:9 ratio.
You mean the real world? Every iPhone to date has been a ridiculous price. Over in here Europe the iPhone 5S 16 GB is 699 and the 4S is still 399 just for 8 GB yet neither of them are having any trouble selling.
Yes, the iPhone is priced in line with the other good smartphones but they're also ridiculously over priced.
And yet, my wife updated here iPhone 4 32gb to IOS7 and had no issues that were severe enough that she complained of sluggishness. Of course it doesn't support the full feature set of IOS7, but it wasn't exactly a slug either.
Your claims are overblown hyperbole.
YMMV. I myself used my iP4 on iOS 7, as did my sister, supervisor and my housemate. Within a month, we'd either upgraded to a newer iPhone or went to Android.
You say overblown hyperbole, I'd say your wife has extremely low standards from her Apple products. iOS 7's performance is horrendous on iPhone 4.
The silver lining in this is that they may streamline the background functioning of iOS to make it quicker across the board.
Apple sure is popular in India, but problem is, it is not designed for Indians.
1. It supports 4G LTE - Sounds Great! But most of the India still faces 2G connectivity issues. Forget about 3G, 4G..!! They use single chip for 2/3/4G which is overkill. An average Indian has an IQ more than most of the West and prefers some other brand.
2. Its delicate to use - Looks elegant! But most of the India still travels in local transport, buses, auto rickshaw. It rains some time, while its astonishingly hot other times. Its hard to live in India with a delicate puppy phone!
3. Brand Name Apple - Its The Brand! But most of India prefers buying products publicised by Indian Personalities (Movie / Sports Stars). Apple still appears alien in homely India. Indians will never buy something they are afraid of.
4. Apple Store Concept - It feels amazing! Most of the Apple showrooms reflect the same. The staff is well trained w.r.t. Apple US guidelines. But those guidelines fail in India. Most indians prefer local language communication that is a big NO for Apple.
5. M.R.P - Fixed M.R.P. of all Apple products! Indians hate fixed M.R.P. An average Indian would never ever gonna buy a product on its M.R.P., its the mentality and can't be changed. Most of the Mac sales happen during 12% student discount offers.
No doubt Apple is able to capture India and Indians but only those inclined towards West. Rest all happily go with Samsung, LG, Sony, etc.
The best possible solution?
Apple should acquire some Indian Mobile brand with good marketing base and start selling.
1. It supports 4G LTE - Sounds Great! But most of the India still faces 2G connectivity issues. Forget about 3G, 4G..!! They use single chip for 2/3/4G which is overkill. An average Indian has an IQ more than most of the West and prefers some other brand.
2. Its delicate to use - Looks elegant! But most of the India still travels in local transport, buses, auto rickshaw. It rains some time, while its astonishingly hot other times. Its hard to live in India with a delicate puppy phone!
3. Brand Name Apple - Its The Brand! But most of India prefers buying products publicised by Indian Personalities (Movie / Sports Stars). Apple still appears alien in homely India. Indians will never buy something they are afraid of.
4. Apple Store Concept - It feels amazing! Most of the Apple showrooms reflect the same. The staff is well trained w.r.t. Apple US guidelines. But those guidelines fail in India. Most indians prefer local language communication that is a big NO for Apple.
5. M.R.P - Fixed M.R.P. of all Apple products! Indians hate fixed M.R.P. An average Indian would never ever gonna buy a product on its M.R.P., its the mentality and can't be changed. Most of the Mac sales happen during 12% student discount offers.
No doubt Apple is able to capture India and Indians but only those inclined towards West. Rest all happily go with Samsung, LG, Sony, etc.
The best possible solution?
Apple should acquire some Indian Mobile brand with good marketing base and start selling.
Well, in this case, the demand on iPhone 4 comes from the consumers themselves in these countries and it surprises Apple. From a practical point of view, iPhone 4 is great product, and it works very well even today; I have one with iOS7, and I don't see any big difference in 90% of daily activities as compared with my other iPhones, 5 and 5s.