I think they need to have a less expensive phone that also has current technology. With having to keep up with new cellular technologies, frequencies, etc around the world, having their inexpensive phone be 2 years out of date limits them. The currently sold 4 and 4s do not have LTE, for example.
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Is the iPhone 5c a mistake?
- Thread starter aimee.elizabeth
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Is the iPhone 5c a mistake?
I don't own Apple stock so I could care less whether a cheaper iPhone ends up being a success or not.
Apple already has a "cheaper" equivalent in the still selling 4S. Keeping the 4S as a option for the customer didn't hurt Apple one bit.
What will make or break Apple is iOS7 and whether the next iPhone has a very appealing design or not. The competition has caught up, IMHO and its all on Apple now. iOS7 and Apple's thing for unique and attractive designs will either cause people to move to another mobile operating system, keep their current user base, and/or attract more customers.
I don't own Apple stock so I could care less whether a cheaper iPhone ends up being a success or not.
Apple already has a "cheaper" equivalent in the still selling 4S. Keeping the 4S as a option for the customer didn't hurt Apple one bit.
What will make or break Apple is iOS7 and whether the next iPhone has a very appealing design or not. The competition has caught up, IMHO and its all on Apple now. iOS7 and Apple's thing for unique and attractive designs will either cause people to move to another mobile operating system, keep their current user base, and/or attract more customers.
Not a mistake. A less expensive, but still "high quality" iPhone in multiple fun colors will dominate, just like the iPod Mini did.
A plastic device will still feel premium if it is built to a high degree of precision and feels good in hand. The software makes a big difference so iOS 7 is going to a piece of the puzzle as well.
A plastic device will still feel premium if it is built to a high degree of precision and feels good in hand. The software makes a big difference so iOS 7 is going to a piece of the puzzle as well.
I think Tim Cook said that earlier this year. He'd rather have people buy an iPhone 5C than an Android phone. I'm sure the iPad cannibalized Mac sales some, but he'd rather have iPad buyers than no buyers at all.
The key to this is the existing popularity of the iPhone 4 and 4S - two models that are both low margin (since they were originally designed as premium flagships and now being sold cheaply) and which also have compatibility issues, with their smaller screens and ipod (not lightning) connectors.
Apple want to kill them off, but they also want to continue serving that big market for a lower cost iPhone. Hence the 5C - cheaper to make, and with or without the current 5 as a middle option, it finally standardises the lineup on lightning connectors and 4" screens - no more excuses for accessory makers or developers not to support them across the board.
Apple want to kill them off, but they also want to continue serving that big market for a lower cost iPhone. Hence the 5C - cheaper to make, and with or without the current 5 as a middle option, it finally standardises the lineup on lightning connectors and 4" screens - no more excuses for accessory makers or developers not to support them across the board.
The guy that wrote that article is completely wrong, his article demonstrates nothing about product differentiation, he's not a product manager and it's obvious why.
That said, everyone keeps assuming they know what the rumoured 5C will be, but I think if Apple stays true to how they've expanded product lines in the past the 5C will be nothing like what most everyone assumes.
The iPod Shuffle isn't the cheaper iPod Classic just as the Mac Pro isn't the more expensive iMac, they sport vastly different feature sets which just happen to carry different price tags, but if the only thing you can see is price tags being what differentiates those products then you can go join the likes of the author of the linked article in the Land of Clueless Armchair Product Strategists.
Don't get me wrong, the question (i.e. thread title) is a good one I think, but if the assumptions are wrong (as most I think are) the conclusion will obviously be wrong. For just a moment assume Apple knows how to differentiate products better than you or me (they're actually excellent at this), it's safe to assume the 5C won't cannibalise the premium 5S sales or tarnish the brand but will reach new demographics the iPhone would never normally reach. How will they do that? I guess we'll have to wait a few weeks, but I wouldn't doom them just yet. Personally, I can't wait to find out.
That said, everyone keeps assuming they know what the rumoured 5C will be, but I think if Apple stays true to how they've expanded product lines in the past the 5C will be nothing like what most everyone assumes.
The iPod Shuffle isn't the cheaper iPod Classic just as the Mac Pro isn't the more expensive iMac, they sport vastly different feature sets which just happen to carry different price tags, but if the only thing you can see is price tags being what differentiates those products then you can go join the likes of the author of the linked article in the Land of Clueless Armchair Product Strategists.
Don't get me wrong, the question (i.e. thread title) is a good one I think, but if the assumptions are wrong (as most I think are) the conclusion will obviously be wrong. For just a moment assume Apple knows how to differentiate products better than you or me (they're actually excellent at this), it's safe to assume the 5C won't cannibalise the premium 5S sales or tarnish the brand but will reach new demographics the iPhone would never normally reach. How will they do that? I guess we'll have to wait a few weeks, but I wouldn't doom them just yet. Personally, I can't wait to find out.
IPod shuffle vs iPod classic and iPhone 5s vs iPhone 5c, is not an apt comparison. The former can both be used in tandem, while the latter requires a choice of one over the other.
I think that is one of three reasons. The other two is the coming decline of subsidized phones. And the last major reason is in a step to fully deprecate the 30 pin connector. When that happens, the 4s/4c customer will start to be pushed back into the buying fold.
It will largely depend on how it's sold, what other models are sold and at what price.
If they discontinue all models but the current model and the "C" model I think it's a good idea. It's cheaper to build than the outgoing high model and will sell for the same price so in the end they are making more money with the C than year and two year old flagship phones.
If they discontinue all models but the current model and the "C" model I think it's a good idea. It's cheaper to build than the outgoing high model and will sell for the same price so in the end they are making more money with the C than year and two year old flagship phones.
I don't buy cheap products it would be a waste of money and I need my iphone to work.
Still a tough job. I mean if they really wanted people to get familiar with the new connector, then they should have made one that actually had a real advantage. I mean there's no difference between the two connectors other than looks.
What decline in subsidized phones? The US carriers want you on contract, that's guaranteed money. There are just offering other options to cover their bases.
That's a difference between Jobs and Cook. I imagine Jobs saying, "if they want a cheaper phone, let them buy from the other guys!"
Now in the 90s, when Job wasn't there, Apple licensed clone makers to build Mac-compatible boxes, to the intention of selling more software and making the Mac-OS a better competitor to Windows, the move didn't work so well.
I honestly hope this is not the beginning of like-any-other-company new Apple.
It's so annoying to hear loads of rumours and not knowing the truth innit? 
Apple must be laughing at us people who are curious about their next move...
To partake in the discussion, deep down I do think the 5C is fake rumour. But on the other hand I don't see why not, since Steve Jobs no longer runs Apple. Who knows, the new CEO might have different thoughts and expectations. So there's still a possibility they want to reach out to a new market in order to compete with other businesses.
However, I've heard the 5C won't be that cheap anyways. Might be about the same price as some of the older iPhone versions after 5S release.
Apple must be laughing at us people who are curious about their next move...To partake in the discussion, deep down I do think the 5C is fake rumour. But on the other hand I don't see why not, since Steve Jobs no longer runs Apple. Who knows, the new CEO might have different thoughts and expectations. So there's still a possibility they want to reach out to a new market in order to compete with other businesses.
However, I've heard the 5C won't be that cheap anyways. Might be about the same price as some of the older iPhone versions after 5S release.
I think sometimes people assume that changing a company's ethos, a company's way of thinking and operating is as easy (though difficult it actually is) as changing the mind of oneself. A company operates day-to-day (you know, the people that do the actual work) in a certain way, defined at the top, and every level beneath will follow suit, every level will have a process that supports this system, every level will have 10s or 100s or 1000s or 10,000s or more of people who follow a system that is a process that supports a certain ethos. Changing something so fundamental as the way a company operates is more than merely changing one's own mind, it's changing the minds and processes (mostly documented, even more so cemented within) of the employees who every day do things "a certain way".
It's true, a new CEO can come in and change things, but there's no indication that things have radically (or even slightly) changed under Cook, and even still, any changes to the way Apple operated BSD ("before Steve died") would take more than a few months or even years to implement. You don't change a company like Apple in such a short time frame, and people suggesting that "Apple has changed" (and therefore is doomed) really don't understand the world of big business at all. But these comments provide one thing: laughter -> if they were all so accurate and they were all so perfect in their "predictions", why aren't they the ones throwing the football instead of watching the game on television?
I think the 5C rumors is fake too. Just like the iPhone maths. Reason? Because it's butt ugly, Apple doesn't make products that look like that. The Apple is always reflective. The quality of the plastic would be better. Apple won't leave us out to dry like that.
They're stirring the pot to lower our expectations, but I think there's a phone worthy of purchase coming out. Apple is advanced.
You are way too mature and calm for this forum. I would have been red with anger and swearing by now
I see where you're coming from, but I don't think that's a good comparison. The 5C is pretty much going to be a slight tweak of the iPhone 5. I'm guessing a lot of the reasoning behind it was the port change to Lightning. About half the iPhones sold are the sub-$199 phones, so manufacturers of third-party products are basically having to adapt to both. If Apple had made something like a 5C a year ago, it could've sold cheaper phones but with that new adapter, making all phones sold come with it.
This could apply to a number of things, like maybe NFC, a newer version of Bluetooth or WiFi. The iPhone 4 is really 2-year-old technology. A newly designed phone could at least be 2013 technology that's not as fast as the higher-end phone.
Wow, have you not been paying attention to Jump! from T-mobile, ATT Next, and Verizon Edge? On the front page of every provider. This is the hot space, lowering fees, and unhiding the subsidy. Which is going to place dramatic pressure on manufacturers to have much lower cost phones. This isn't covering bases, this is a shift.
This is a two part shift. Those that want newer faster without being "punished" and those who are satisfied with existing hardware and want to find cheaper services.
The original model developed to lower churn. This is being seen as less important as the size of the markets increase, and there are large targets for cheaper services.
Yeah I see those but who is actually going to jump on Verizon and att with that? It's designed to double dip the tiny fractional percentage of consumers that don't know math and will jump on it. Only tmobiles non contract plan is actually consumer friendly. The rest are a great rip off. Like i said carriers are providing different options, does not mean they are getting rid of contracts.