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iPhone 5C Predicted to Replace iPhone 5, iPhone 4S Sales to Continue

As much as I like innovation and upgraded gadgets, discontinuing a phone that's one year old will make a lot of people mad.

iPhone 5, while a good phone and only less than a year old, getting discontinued? That's rough.

Nothing against 5S or 5C or 4S, but looks like the 5 is seriously getting some hard love. That's business I guess...
 
nah, this is rubbish.

4s will go along with 4, no more 30 pin dock connector should be available, and thank god finally we will see some more lightning accessories. The industry seems to have been completely flattened by apple requiring a builders license. They should really have just let it blossom, it's what made the 3-4 such a good choice and now people are getting accidentally killed by chargers only because the unlicensed market didn't have proper plans, connections and workings.

i still think iphone 5c to be the worst name ever, it's going to be called iphone 5 cheap.
 
JayJayAbels said:
On the surface it doesn't make sense but dig deeper and it absolutely does.

The iPhone 5S is the big dog.
- innovative Fingerprint sensor
- 4" screen
- new A7 processor
- new 12 MP camera
- new 32, 64, 128 gig capacities
- Snazzy new "champagne" color option
- $600 to $700

The iPhone 5C is mid tier
- 4" screen
- available in multiple colors
- A6 processor
- 8MP upgraded camera
- 16, 32, 64 gig capacities
- new plastic housing
- $350 to $450

The iPhone 4S is low end
- 3.5" screen
- 2 color options
- A5 processor
- 8MP camera
- 16 gig capacity
- perfect for emerging markets (China)
- $0 to $200

All 3 iPhone models come with iOS7.

With the China Mobile deal in place... it makes sense.

September 10th can't come quick enough.
Click to expand...

As a buyer, I don't see why I should buy an iPhone 5S. There's not enough difference between the 5C and the 5S.
 
Part of me wonders if Apple are testing the water with this 5c. I mean most other phone manufacturers use plastic to build their phones, so if Apple release the 5c and it sells really well then why not make only plastic iPhones in the future? And phase out the metal/glass. They would save an absolute fortune in manufacturing costs, and if the price difference was only a little less they'd probably make more profit too.
 
I want it to be the next iPhone, love these mockups. Stop all of this nonsense about creating more and more products, we don't want to see the late 80's/early 90's happen again.
 
Diesel79 said:
Part of me wonders if Apple are testing the water with this 5c. I mean most other phone manufacturers use plastic to build their phones, so if Apple release the 5c and it sells really well then why not make only plastic iPhones in the future? And phase out the metal/glass. They would save an absolute fortune in manufacturing costs, and if the price difference was only a little less they'd probably make more profit too.
Click to expand...

But that would be an absolute contradiction of every time Tim Cook has talked about only making great products, and not just responding to competitors' products.

And the amount of time they give to Jonny Ive in the product release videos, to talk about the cutting edge material engineering.
 
Erphern said:
Ming-Chi Kuo, "who has a solid track record when it comes to Apple rumors", has failed hard at being right about anything this year.
Click to expand...

absolutely

but Macrumors keeps reminding us about the fact that he "had" a solid track record

his analysis relies only on rumors... :rolleyes:
 
No need to debate to try and justify this report aka shaping reality to fit a rumor.

The slightest understand of business will help explain this article and put it into context.

1. Beyond 22nd (presumed launch date) the only iPhone available from Apple and major carrier stores will be iPhone 5S & 5C. That's more than they need.

2. However, inventory and distribution channels will be a slight issue for a few months, as Apple slowly replaces all inventory across all distribution. There simply won't be enough 5C at launch to replace every single iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on store shelves across the world. Which is what this article is alluding to. The iPhone 4S will still be sold, and because channel inventory is always kept so low, it will likely be "manufactured" through to the end of the year, to keep all of Apple's distribution points satisfied.

To spell it out more clearly (using hypothetical numbers):

-Apple's distributors need 40 million non-flagship iPhones through the end of the year to meet demand.

-Apple can only produce 20 million iPhone 5C through the end of the year and dole them out judiciously throughout the distribution network.

-Apple continues to produce one of the three models that are being discontinued (the 4S, correct choice too) to fill out the remaining 20 million demand so that this big shift doesn't hurt distributors.

Are we getting yet, oh so feeble rumor readers?
 
logical move, why would anyone buy the iphone 5c if they can get the iphone 5, apple knows how to sell it's products.
 
If the iPhone 5 design is not produced anymore by the end of the year, then its true that those plastic inserts at the back was not the best design in the world.

For me, that iPod to the right is the best design ever. Why don't invest in some sort of revolutionary battery design and make a phone the size of the iPod?
 
JayJayAbels said:
On the surface it doesn't make sense but dig deeper and it absolutely does.

The iPhone 5S is the big dog.
- innovative Fingerprint sensor
- 4" screen
- new A7 processor
- new 12 MP camera
- new 32, 64, 128 gig capacities
- Snazzy new "champagne" color option
- $600 to $700

The iPhone 5C is mid tier
- 4" screen
- available in multiple colors
- A6 processor
- 8MP upgraded camera
- 16, 32, 64 gig capacities
- new plastic housing
- $350 to $450

The iPhone 4S is low end
- 3.5" screen
- 2 color options
- A5 processor
- 8MP camera
- 16 gig capacity
- perfect for emerging markets (China)
- $0 to $200

All 3 iPhone models come with iOS7.

With the China Mobile deal in place... it makes sense.

September 10th can't come quick enough.
Click to expand...

No, you're wrong. Again, stop shaping reality to fit an out-of-context rumor.

The iPhone 5C is STILL the low end & mid tier. This one report doesn't change that.

Please read my post above for an explanation of what this report is referring to, and stop trying to make sense of things that make no sense at all.

----------
oliversl said:
If the iPhone 5 design is not produced anymore by the end of the year, then its true that those plastic inserts at the back was not the best design in the world.

For me, that iPod to the right is the best design ever. Why don't invest in some sort of revolutionary battery design and make a phone the size of the iPod?
Click to expand...

People have been saying they would rather the "design of" the iPod touch since the first generation. Nothing new, and it can never happen.
 
i call ********. apple is used to replace devices with refurb units etc or replace parts. considering that no one at all has reached the end of their iphone 5 , if there is a problem how are they going to fixit?
that aside it really is not apples style: discontinuing an item after only 1 year.
 
It's hard to be wrong when you change your opinion twice a week, like Ming-Chi Kuo does.

Anyway, I have a hard time believing Apple will keep the 4S around.
 
The way i see it, if the iPhone 5 is to be done for i sure know a hell of a lot of people to be mad, heck i know 7 people who just bought the device im not in the USA so we dont have contracts we pay full price for the phone so its a big deal. In my opinion, if the iPhone 5 is out of the euquation the 5C could have an A6 processor, 1GB of ram (not sure abt that one) an 8MP camera, 16GB storage, and a plastic housing comes with iOS 7 of course. Now if the iPhone 5 is to be left in the equation i see the 5C to be the low level iPhone with similar specs to the 4S slightly more ram and the A5 processor to be a bit higher in frequency.
 
pmz said:
2. However, inventory and distribution channels will be a slight issue for a few months, as Apple slowly replaces all inventory across all distribution. There simply won't be enough 5C at launch to replace every single iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on store shelves across the world. Which is what this article is alluding to. The iPhone 4S will still be sold, and because channel inventory is always kept so low, it will likely be "manufactured" through to the end of the year, to keep all of Apple's distribution points satisfied.

To spell it out more clearly (using hypothetical numbers):

-Apple's distributors need 40 million non-flagship iPhones through the end of the year to meet demand.

-Apple can only produce 20 million iPhone 5C through the end of the year and dole them out judiciously throughout the distribution network.

-Apple continues to produce one of the three models that are being discontinued (the 4S, correct choice too) to fill out the remaining 20 million demand so that this big shift doesn't hurt distributors.

Are we getting yet, oh so feeble rumor readers?
Click to expand...
I doubt that. Apple usually has very low channel inventory.

Furthermore, the iPhone 5C is (probably) designed to be cheap. That means it is also designed to be assembled very efficiently. If Apple would design such a phone, I would be very disappointed if they were to produce only 20 million in ~4 months. Apple can and will do better.
 
HarryKNN21 said:
I am guessing iPhone 4S will be sold at the same price as 5C, if 5C is cheaper than 4S then who would buy 4S?
Click to expand...

4S 16g Free on Contract

5C $99 16g on contract 32, 64 available.

5S $199 32g on contract. 64, 128 available.

Different Carriers will vary, unlocked phones will vary.

There is NOTHING cheap in the Polymer 5C. It is a new composition of the polymer used in the 3G. The 5C will have a much small feature set than the 5C. From RAM to to no 128 option to an A5 on steroids.

4S will be 16g. Period. Need more, get a 5C or 5S. I realize MR is mainly comprised of Elite Power Users will decades of user experience. However, I know many people that do just fine on 16g, and a free iPhone.

It's really becoming irritating reading about the "Plastic" iPhone 5C. Have any of you plastizoids spent any time looking at the reinforcing aluminum support structure in the 5C? The 5C is not a cheap phone. It is a phone with less features, older design internals, and a VERY robust polymer shell with an aluminum internal chassis.

It was designed for Asia, and IMO sell very well in the US. As will the poor lonely 16g 4S.

The latest and greatest 5S will be there for all the experts to own for a week, then start the "What do we want in the iPhone 6 thread." :apple:
 
pmz said:
2. However, inventory and distribution channels will be a slight issue for a few months, as Apple slowly replaces all inventory across all distribution
Click to expand...

Nope.

Your premise is wrong.
Apple have a far more active loop in their inventory control.

The rate limiting step is in materials, not in finished stock.
 
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