Apple to Unveil Next Generation iPhone on September 10

[bazinga!!]

Aimed at emerging markets but a price ranging from 400-500$? Their pricing policy is so irrational.

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It's gotta' happen. Like it or not. Apple are losing millions of sales in Asia to Samsung & that number will only increase unless they act now.

They're losing sales worldwide because the iPhone 5 is 700euros/dollars/whatever, which is way too much for a lot of people who are changing phones. I know several people who won't buy a new one because of this. A few years ago 500 seemed reasonable, but 700? Nah.

 

[MyopicPaideia]

So? You do realize that the customer will end up paying it, one way or the other? In the US, iPhones are cheaper than in Europe, but that's because the average monthly fee is about twice as high as in Europe.

Really? Where in Europe are you? I can get an unlimited everything plan for 80 USD a month here in Sweden including the cost of the phone...and our 25% value added tax! From everything I've experienced there that's pretty hard to match in the 'States.

iPhones are much more expensive here off contract (starting at a whopping 737 USD for a 16GB at the current SEK/USD exchange rate, taxes excluded, making the true price a ridiculous 925 USD for a base model iPhone) but since all phones sold are unlocked by the carriers here (not sure but I think it is an EU mandate), it is much more rare that they are sold this way.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

Hopefully they increase the size to at least 4.3''

Apple has decided you don't need a bigger screen now.

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Rundown of September- on the 10th apple announces new iPhone/iPhones and announces release dates of them and iOS7 which will be released on the 17th. and the new Mac Pro's release date shall be announced. On the 17th apple releases iOS7 and starts shipping the new iPhones. The release date goes horrible and apple sells the fewest iPhones they've ever sold on a release date. shipping time goes from 5-7 weeks to 1-3 days in a matter of days. This year we see the demise of Apple. Tim Cook is ousted and so are others in corporate.

Sept 4th Samsung announces the Note 3.

 

[Xiroteus]

Aimed at emerging markets but a price ranging from 400-500$? Their pricing policy is so irrational.

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They're losing sales worldwide because the iPhone 5 is 700euros/dollars/whatever, which is way too much for a lot of people who are changing phones. I know several people who won't buy a new one because of this. A few years ago 500 seemed reasonable, but 700? Nah.

I bought used because I did not want a contract and wanted to save some money. I would just continue doing that for now. Almost five hundred dollars does not sound like that much of a drop.

 

[cambookpro]

Really? Where in Europe are you? I can get an unlimited everything plan for 80 USD a month here in Sweden including the cost of the phone...and our 25% value added tax! From everything I've experienced there that's pretty hard to match in the 'States.

iPhones are much more expensive here off contract (starting at a whopping 737 USD for a 16GB at the current SEK/USD exchange rate, taxes excluded, making the true price a ridiculous 925 USD for a base model iPhone) but since all phones sold are unlocked by the carriers here (not sure but I think it is an EU mandate), it is much more rare that they are sold this way.

He said the price was double in the States, not in Europe

 

[Fairthrope]

if a iPhone 5c is required to compete in places like Asia and South America, they should do it there. Bringing the 5c to the States will just devalue the brand imo...

So it Shanghai or Hong Kong Convention rather than Muscovy Center then...

But do you want Cook & Co to just take iPhones line there, or the entire iOS lineup as well?

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I bought used because I did not want a contract and wanted to save some money. I would just continue doing that for now. Almost five hundred dollars does not sound like that much of a drop.

You may have to wait until Jan 2014 for a used one.

 

[pnoyblazed]

Note 3 has my interest.

You and me both

 

[Fairthrope]

I purchased a 4S when it was released in Oct 2011, so I am eligible for upgrade - I will most likely purchase the new one when it comes out this fall.

Would you take 5S or just 5C and keep the change?

 

[BobbyCat]

In what world is $490 or even $450 considered cheap?

Exactly what I was thinking

If this phone goes for more than 250-300 $, it's going to be a mega flop worldwide.
Obviously those interested in a "low-cost" iPhone are looking at the price tag to start with.
If it's affordable and they can get something that's close to a real iPhone, they'll buy it.
But if it's out of reach anyway, they'll rush to the competition. Because from all the rumors, this low-cost will not be really superior to many Android 200 $-smartphones.

 

[Reason077]

Then just bring back the 3G/3GS design. Much simpler and it worked. Oh, and those weren't cheap even though they were a one-piece plastic thing.

The 3G/3GS was, in many ways, the best ever iPhone model in terms of design. But you can't keep bashing out the same old design for ever. A 3GS with a bigger screen would just look like like pretty much every Samsung phone.

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Because from all the rumors, this low-cost will not be really superior to many Android 200 $-smartphones.

How many $200 Android smartphones are comparable to the iPhone's A6, in terms of CPU performance, graphics performance, and battery life?

 

[Setok]

still not cheap if they want to grab some of the asian markets. nexus 4 is cheap not this and for the western world its kinda uninteresting as you can get the "high end" device for 1€ already on contract

I agree on that price. The rumoured 400–500$ is not cheap. If I was buying now, I'd serious consider a Nexus 4 as it's great value. The important thing to remember here is that the American view is skewed. Even in Western countries there are many places where people buy off-contract as they don't have the same nasty deals American operators do. Buying an unlocked device is also important if you plan to travel and insert different SIM cards (common in Europe).

Here in Finland, for instance, I pay around €10–15 per month for unlimited (yes, unlimited) 3G/4G. I can travel to London and get 2GB of mobile data for a month on a prepaid card for 15 quid. I'm always shocked travelling to the US where it seems 60$ is the norm, with coverage being much worse.

I kind of wanted the iPhone 5, but couldn't justify it at the ridiculously high price. It costs as much as a MacBook! I feel Apple is just plain greedy on the margins there.

 

[BobbyCat]

How many $200 Android smartphones are comparable to the iPhone's A6, in terms of CPU performance, graphics performance, and battery life?

I understand your point, but price being the primary criterion for this buyer, I doubt he'll have the opportunity to really compare features, CPU performance and such.
The thinking will be: "my budget for a new phone is 200 $. What can I do with a smartphone for that money? If an Android can do the same as an iPhone, why should I pay more?".
If Apple wants to sell a new phone, it's got to have a competitive edge (in terms of price/quality ratio) and not just be 100 $ cheaper than their expensive model.

 

[theluggage]

You think they'll make an 8GB 5C?

Stop the 16gb crap.... It's time to start with 32. For iPad at least.

8GB is probably OK - and 16GB plenty - for people who intend to use cloud-based media services rather than carry their whole media collection around.

You can get a fair number of Apps into 8 or 16 GB - esp. on a lower cost phone that isn't going to be peoples first choice as a laptop replacement or games console.

Personally, I'm not yet ready to move to the cloud (my media consumption is too sporadic to warrant a monthly fee) so I'd rather have plenty of storage, but I know others who don't see the need for more than 16GB.

 

[Chrjy]

maybe on the iPhone (which i agree on) but DEF. not ready to go live on the iPad AT ALL. beta 5 is actually a step backwards from the 4th beta on my iPad 3

That's strange because I have Beta 5 installed on my iPad 3 and it's so much better than previous versions. Feels like it is reaching its final stages, still a little work to do but it's definitely getting there. I was quite surprised at the difference between beta 4 and beta 5.

 

[50548]

Will anyone but the hardcore Apple fans even care?

The world that I live in doesn't hold its breath waiting for day-late dollar-short announcements from Cupertino.

Perhaps for the first time ever I have to agree with you, Aiden.

These announcements are a huge "yawn" and too little, too late in what is now a highly-competitive market (regardless of whether Android makers stole Apple's ideas or not - unfortunately they are there already).

If the new iPhone doesn't have truly differentiating features such as haptic feedback, NFC, much bigger storage, even better battery life and so on, it will be corroborating evidence that Cook is a disaster waiting to happen.

NOBODY cares about a slightly faster Wi-Fi (which is never fully used in real life anyway), a slightly better camera (particularly given Nokia's recent announcements) and, well, nothing else.

And there is absolutely no reason to cater to "emerging markets" with a much lower margin plastic iPhone - if Cook was a little smarter, he would have understood that those gigantic "emerging markets" already buy the CURRENT iPhone in droves with no complaints about its price.

 

[Danyboy]

iPhone 5C(rap)?

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this or moto x. hmmm

moto x

 

[tdale]

Well I'm wondering if the 5s may include a larger screen. If Apple decides to release a 5s the specs on that sucker has to be a helluva lot better than the 5c, because if they are close in specs than people will opt for the cheaper more colorful option.

Furthermore every other line of apple products has more than one display size every line. Increasing the iPhones screen size while holding at 4 on the 5c will give them a whole new reason to upgrade to the new model.

Probably wont happen but it seems reasonable

No.

The 5S is the "normal" phone, aka a 5 with minor incremental changes

5C is budget, and I am sure its only for Asia, not the rest of us first worlders.

 

[KohPhiPhi]

1) I totally see the iPhone 5C cannibalizing sales from the iPhone 5S. There's not enough performance gap in my opinion.

2) At $499, this is not really a cheap product for developing countries. The difference between the 5C and the 5S is just $100. Not enough.

So, what I'm trying to say is that the 5C and 5S overlap too much both in terms of performance and price. It's like the Macbook Pro 13" and the Macbook Air 13". They're not different enough to warrant the 2 different product lines.

 

[the8thark]

Apple's product line is actually pretty sparse compared to it's competitors that also deal in PC's, tablets, and smartphones.

I wouldn't be too concerned about bloat just yet.

You would not be but I am. And Apple should not be comparing itself to the bottom of the barrel competition. Apple should only compare Apple to itself. And better its own standards. When you are at the top the only standard worth bettering is your own.

And also one must look into the future. Bloat does not happen over night. Best to prevent it before it starts. I am seriously worried about this. ANd with no Jobs there to prevent the bloat, who knows. I just hope Cook and co are smart enough to realise this. The 90's Apple CEO's were not smart enough to notice this. And Apple paid the price for it.

 

[Luap]

Good lord this week is great. Lady Gaga's song leaks, Katy Perry's song leaks, new Applause snippets today, and now this Apple news All good stuff.

Fascinating.

The slay is real.

Well, umm, that's nice for you? Those fake ones must have really sucked.

 

[musser]

Hayday

I really miss Steve.

 

[olowott]

Now we have a date, lets get to it.

 

[tdale]

1) I totally see the iPhone 5C cannibalizing sales from the iPhone 5S. There's not enough performance gap in my opinion.

2) At $499, this is not really a cheap product for developing countries. The difference between the 5C and the 5S is just $100. Not enough.

So, what I'm trying to say is that the 5C and 5S overlap too much both in terms of performance and price. It's like the Macbook Pro 13" and the Macbook Air 13". They're not different enough to warrant the 2 different product lines.

I think you will find that you cannot buy a 5C other than Asia. 4, 4S, 5 are the lower cost options

And where did the 5C prices come from? I expect it to be more expensive than the equal Android, but at a point where "its worth the little extra to finally get an iPhone"

My thoughts

 

[cube]

Stop the 16gb crap.... It's time to start with 32. For iPad at least.

32GB is not enough. What is needed is a microSDXC slot.

 

[MH01]

History does teach us something; that lower models get released all the time. iPod classic to iPod mini to iPod shuffle. Nothing new.

Would you consider the mini or shuffle to be lower models? I consider them to be aimed at different activities. My shuffle is purely for excise, my iPod classic is purely for music listening due to it's capacity and superior sound quality .

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32GB is not enough. What is needed is a microSDXC slot.

Your average user will not require 32gb. Even 16 is plenty. Most users treat third iPhone as just a phone, not a smartphone and multi media device. Apple will no doubt offer 64gb at a price point .