Leaked Photos of Low Cost iPhone 4 Prototype

[AppleScruff1]

We don't ship junk? What do you call the MagSafe adapter? You know, the one they replace for free on the 2006 models?

I love my MacBook Air, but the MagSafe just stinks. I recently had one blow out on my new computer when I was running a game in boot camp because it drew too much power for the adapter and it shorted out. I went to the Apple Store, asked for a replacement, and they took it and gave me a new one. They never asked to see my computer or for the serial number. Now look, if you're swapping a product out that quickly that costs $80, you know its not a good product. Period.

Apple will ship whatever sells. And not all plastic is cheap, and not all cheap plastic stinks. If you've studied orgo, you would know that in some cases plastic is FAR higher quality than glass. However, to most people, plastic feels cheap because a lot of cheap products use cheaply, poorly engineered plastic. Though I had the sides that split open on the black MacBook (2006 models were junk, like it or not), the fact remains that most of the plastic on the device was pretty solidly engineered, and that part wasn't well engineered for whatever reason. Hey, your laptop has plastic keys if you have a MacBook Air. And last I checked, Apple keys don't fall off. They feel light and cheap, but they're incredibly solid.

Don't believe the hype. Plastic on an iphone can work even better than glass, it just won't feel luxurious.

Be careful, people here don't like this kind of comment.

This doesn't jive with Steve Jobs' admonishment of "not releasing crap", as he so elegantly stated when asked about netbooks.

And Steve never says one thing and then does another.

I want an ultra feature-heavy, high-end iPhone. Perhaps somewhere in the $1,200-$1,500 price range.

Agreed. It will help with the record profits. Better yet, make a minor upgrade or two and double the price.

If true, no thanks. We get enough cheap plastic items from China.

And a lot of expensive ones too.

 

[andytran]

Some other information that you want to transfer to you is that this machine seems to run faster than the iPhone 4, lighter weight and two glass front and back seem to have been replaced by two plastic sheets, type of sensation and cry other than the iPhone 4.

In case any of you need another translation:

Some other info that I want to share with you is that it seems to run faster than the iPhone 4, has lighter weight and the front and back glass panels seem to have been replaced by two plastic panels, which feel and sound different when tapped on.​

I'm Vietnamese.

 

[KnightWRX]

I'd happily pay that for a 32 GB iPhone 4 when the 5 comes out.

Forget it. It's either going to be a 8 GB or at most a 16 GB (if we get the storage bump this year that we didn't last year) iPhone 4.

 

[zstern702]

i personaly thing that they should keep selling the 3gs and a cheaper alternative, its proven, popular, and the cost to produce is much lower then the iPhone 4, i wouldn't be surprised if we see a revised 3gs in the near future as apples low end version. there is really nothing apple can get rid of to lower cost so that people would be willing to get over an andriod

 

[Yamcha]

I wouldnt mind seeing a cheaper iPhone, apple can after all use durable plastic, and anyways a lot of devices do use plastic.

 

[acidfast7]

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That's on contract. The bulk of the developing market is prepaid and thus unsubsidized. They'll tackle it, but with a $349 phone. Not cheap enough to cheapen the brand, but affordable for an upwardly-aspiring citizen of the developing world.

I still think they'd sell a huge amount at 299-349€ in Europe for people who don't want to be locked into one company or have to pay an insanely high monthly bill ($50 or higher.)

For example, the average mobile phone bill in Germany is approximately 20€/month and more than half of phones are bought without contract.

299€-349€ is much more reasonable than 739€.

 

[ComputersaysNo]

Prepaid thru itunes perhaps? Buying your minutes/data from Apple?

 

[Darwing]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Lol hahaha it is running cydia, and yes the conversion kit... Good research

 

[a.gomez]

This doesn't jive with Steve Jobs' admonishment of "not releasing crap", as he so elegantly stated when asked about netbooks.

"not releasing crap" is open to interpretation - just because some of the crap Apple releases becomes popular does not mean it is not "Crap"

 

[OceanView]

I hope it's true cause some people that I know are just clumsy and tend to drop things. This would help them a lot.
The thing I wonder about is if data plans would still be required.

 

[mlmwalt]

We don't ship junk? What do you call the MagSafe adapter? You know, the one they replace for free on the 2006 models?

I love my MacBook Air, but the MagSafe just stinks. I recently had one blow out on my new computer when I was running a game in boot camp because it drew too much power for the adapter and it shorted out. I went to the Apple Store, asked for a replacement, and they took it and gave me a new one. They never asked to see my computer or for the serial number. Now look, if you're swapping a product out that quickly that costs $80, you know its not a good product. Period.

Apple will ship whatever sells. And not all plastic is cheap, and not all cheap plastic stinks. If you've studied orgo, you would know that in some cases plastic is FAR higher quality than glass. However, to most people, plastic feels cheap because a lot of cheap products use cheaply, poorly engineered plastic. Though I had the sides that split open on the black MacBook (2006 models were junk, like it or not), the fact remains that most of the plastic on the device was pretty solidly engineered, and that part wasn't well engineered for whatever reason. Hey, your laptop has plastic keys if you have a MacBook Air. And last I checked, Apple keys don't fall off. They feel light and cheap, but they're incredibly solid.

Don't believe the hype. Plastic on an iphone can work even better than glass, it just won't feel luxurious.

Don't crush the MagSafe just because it was flawed in 2006. It works very well on my 2009 MBP. In fact, I retired my only Sony/Win Laptop because the power port was ruined when the cord was tripped over. Perhaps it's time to replace your 2006 model.

As for the glass v plastic issue, using a good enough grade of plastic makes the quality a matter of preference. And I prefer glass, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

[daveathall]

Apple, as a money making company would be very stupid not to look at the cheaper end of the smart phone market. It is a huge untapped (By Apple) cash cow that introduces people to the Apple world, first a phone then an Air and so on.

That's exactly why Rolls Royce & Bentley are looking at the compact car market

I take it you have your sarcasm button pressed? Rolls Royce and Bentley, or to be exact, the owners of those companies do look at that market, ever heard of a BMW 1 series or a VW Polo?

 

[daveathall]

The $50 iPhone 3GS says "hi". (It's also free if you wanted a refurb...)

Consumers in the main don't say "Hi" to a two and a half year old phone, they want new and up to date.

 

[576316]

Apple will never use Plastic on their screens. It would be a complete waste of time and would lower them to the standards of other cut-corner manufacturers. Even the iPod Touch is glass and as far as I can see, that's "affordable".

 

[jkichline]

We don't ship junk? What do you call the MagSafe adapter? You know, the one they replace for free on the 2006 models?

I love my MacBook Air, but the MagSafe just stinks. I recently had one blow out on my new computer when I was running a game in boot camp because it drew too much power for the adapter and it shorted out. I went to the Apple Store, asked for a replacement, and they took it and gave me a new one. They never asked to see my computer or for the serial number. Now look, if you're swapping a product out that quickly that costs $80, you know its not a good product. Period.

That's how Apple's service is. I dropped my iPhone and the screen cracked slightly (which is bizarre since my wife has thrown her's across pavement without a scratch) and they replaced it free of charge. Welcome to the Apple Store, have a nice day.

Don't believe the hype. Plastic on an iphone can work even better than glass, it just won't feel luxurious.

The point that Steve made in his 2007 announcement is they chose glass because plastic scratches. Since you put your phone in a pocket with keys, etc, the screen can't scratch. I don't think there are any plastics that can resist scratches like glass can. It would be like saying "they" can make windshields out of plastic, but they wouldn't be as luxurious. The point behind using glass is it is much more scratch resistant.

 

[0dev]

This move makes perfect sense. The mid-range market is very lucrative and simply reducing the price of the previous year's iPhone doesn't cut it. It's good to see Apple branching out with a cheaper iPhone.

For people saying Apple wouldn't do this: explain the iPod Nano then?

 

[Luap]

The images are said to come from a "very reliable source"

Well that sure confirms it! It has to be true if they claim it is from a very reliable source! Phew.. Thank the lord that all doubt has now been ruled out.

an iPhone 4 but using plastic instead of glass to lower costs

Ahh yes, because glass is a hideously expensive material.
Oh, wait.. Actually, it isn't. At all.
And plastic is more recyclable than glass. Ahh crap, No! That isn't true either!

Damn MacRumors! We need better speculative rumours from a site that claims not to speculate!

 

[0dev]

Well that sure confirms it! It has to be true if they claim it is from a very reliable source! Phew.. Thank the lord that all doubt has now been ruled out.

The source in question has handled legit prototypes of multiple Apple products, so this, too, is very likely to be legit. However, it's also possible that the plastic is only being used on internal Apple prototypes.

Ahh yes, because glass is a hideously expensive material.
Oh, wait.. Actually, it isn't. At all.
And plastic is more recyclable than glass. Ahh crap, No! That isn't true either!

Damn MacRumors! We need better speculative rumours from a site that claims not to speculate!

Plastic feels cheaper and is therefore more apt for a mid range product. And this is Mac Rumors, not Mac Facts.

 

[Cingular]

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I word rather have a plastic phone that does not crack easily than a sensitive glass iPhone that breaks easily.

 

[silentnite]

Good looking phone for the average normal phone user. Hope it has a pre paid deal as well as no contract. You catch more fly's with honey

 

[0dev]

Good looking phone for the average normal phone user. Hope it has a pre paid deal as well as no contract. You catch more fly's with honey

An iPhone like this would certainly explode in the pay as you go and SIM free markets, no question.

 

[virginiaplain0]

Well, as long as the apps I currently have work on a cheaper iPhone model, I'm okay with that.

 

[jmerchlinsky]

iPhone 3rd World

The holy grail of smart phone volume is the low-cost version of the iPhone designed for the 3rd world. That phone won't be a last-generation iPhone it will be a separate design optimized for that market. Being successfull in that market means pullling as much cost out of the phone as possible because the phone is not carrier subsidized and the target customer has much low income that today's iPhone buyer. Every component will need to be cost reduced, whether that means a plastic screen, a smallish NAND Flash, or a lower performance processor.

Interestingly enough, I read an article some time ago about has made Nokia so successfull in that market. One of the key features is the ruggedness of the phone. Changing from glass to plastic might just be a ruggedization feature as much as a cost cutter.

 

[0dev]

The holy grail of smart phone volume is the low-cost version of the iPhone designed for the 3rd world. That phone won't be a last-generation iPhone it will be a separate design optimized for that market. Being successfull in that market means pullling as much cost out of the phone as possible because the phone is not carrier subsidized and the target customer has much low income that today's iPhone buyer. Every component will need to be cost reduced, whether that means a plastic screen, a smallish NAND Flash, or a lower performance processor.

Interestingly enough, I read an article some time ago about has made Nokia so successfull in that market. One of the key features is the ruggedness of the phone. Changing from glass to plastic might just be a ruggedization feature as much as a cost cutter.

Very true. Nokia's most successful phone is the 1100 dumbphone for this very reason.

However, I don't think Apple could get an iPhone that cheap no matter what they did. The Nokias that are successful in this market are so basic they don't even have colour screens, remember.

 

[Pink∆Floyd]

Maybe Apple has come up with new innovative magical scratch free plastic