Lower-Cost iPhone's Plastic Rear Shell Reportedly Surfaces

[cire]

On the flipside, aluminum never feels cheap.

That's why I treasure my time hold my Milwaukee's Best. The fine curves of that well-engineered aluminum can. I run my finger along the crisp lid that must have been shaped by not just a diamond, but a crystalline diamond. It's just magic...literally!

Makes me want to cry.

 

[Daalseth]

Why? This isn't aimed at the typical iPhone user. This makes a lot of sense for countries where people can't afford the normal iPhone prices. This helps expand their user base, in my opinion. Perhaps I am wrong.

Not at all, and I hope this is not limited to third world countries. I, living in Canada, would be in line for one. I don't have an iPhone simply because I won't get a phone on contract. You end up paying two or three times what the phone is worth over the life of the contract. But I couldn't justify the $700 for a phone. But $300 up front then month to month IS something I would be willing to do. Plastic doesn't bother me, I keep my devices in cases anyway.

I really hope this comes to pass.

 

[MartiNZ]

makes me miss my 3g and 3gs.

So this. Typing this on my 5 as its sharp edges dig into my left hand; would so be satisfied with a phone that is even halfway comfortable to use again! No particular care what it is made of, comfort is king.

 

[tekboi]

Obviously fake. But the fact that apple would even consider this is very unsettling.

 

[cire]

Ah no we actually pronounce it al-you-min-e-um. It's spelt Aluminium here so it's not unreasonable.

It is Jony Ives British pronunciation of aluminum that makes Apple's product so sexy. Maybe if they add an 'I' to plastic somewhere they can add the same cachet to products made from it.

 

[tech4all]

I laugh at the elitist attitude here.

"It's ugly"

"I don't like the idea of a cheaper iPhone"

This says one thing: (some) iPhone users like spending a lot of money on a good looking phone and put that as a priority above anything else. It's like having a cheaper iPhone will bring in the "peasants" and you won't feel so entitled anymore.

 

[justinhu8]

Dunno

personally I hated the plastic design of the 3G/3GS and was glad apple moved most of there plastic devices to aluminium and glass, so for me it looks terrible, seems odd for them to use plastic as they've been getting rid of plastics in there products for the past couple of years

 

[Gym Hellwig]

RIP Apple.

Say goodbye to your quality brand.

----------

I laugh at the elitist attitude here.

"It's ugly"

"I don't like the idea of a cheaper iPhone"

This says one thing: (some) iPhone users like spending a lot of money on a good looking phone and put that as a priority above anything else. It's like having a cheaper iPhone will bring in the "peasants" and you won't feel so entitled anymore.

If Porsche made an ugly piece of junk car that sold for $12,000, a lot of Porsche owners would be disgusted.

It ruins the brand.

 

[justinhu8]

Compared to the Nexus 4s glass back there's no competition

 

[Renzatic]

Apple would never lower themselves to make something out of plastic! Why would they use something so cheap it's used for making baby toys, when they could be using the same material coke cans are made of? Ridiculous!

Save for the iPhone, the iPhone 3, the 3GS, the first few generations of iMacs, Macbooks, iBooks, earlier Powerbooks, etc. etc. etc, Apple would never use plastic!

 

[TheMarc]

No way they are selling an iphone (with a 4" retina screen, and decent processor -previous gen?) for 300$.
I'm not sure they would actually want to sell a cheaper iphone, just have one for sale.

I see maybe more the cheap one for 369-389$, and the upscale on for 579-599$. Then, when you go in to look at the cheap one, you seriously think about getting the expensive one, actually. You wouldn't do that if the cheap one was less than half the price of the other one (unless the cheap one really is cheap in terms of specs, built, etc. which I doubt Apple would be stupid enough to do).

 

[Renzatic]

If Porsche made an ugly piece of junk car that sold for $12,000, a lot of Porsche owners would be disgusted.

It ruins the brand.

The first mistake you're making is assuming owning an iPhone is the same as owning a Porsche. Even at it's current "premium" price, using nothing but "premium" parts, just about every schlub in the middle class spectrum can save up for a month or two to get a $700 iPhone. On the other hand, only a few can pay $60,000 for a Porsche without making huge sacrifices to do so.

All tablets and smartphones, regardless of brand, are Toyotas and Nissans.

 

[Hell0W0rld]

The Article

Yeah, back to plastic. Good News. Now get rid of the hideous 4"-inch screen witch makes scaling assets a nightmare and everything is great.

 

[mrsir2009]

Fake.

I don't think so - They looks like stickers or some sort of packaging. Because if it were a photoshop f up, why in those specific places? The rest of the phone is fine, including all of the other corners.

 

[notabadname]

It can be the best quality of the entry level phones offered by so many manufacturers - a great option for high school and college students subsidized by parents like me. And this provides a path for Apple to get people invested in the Apple ecosystem.

Consider this the "gateway drug".

 

[paulrbeers]

Everyone wants the latest and greatest. It's a step BACK from the previous generation.

Everyone wants the latest and the greatest, but many can't afford it. Why not go for this group? And there will be a dramatic difference in what the iPhone 5S will look like compared to this one so those with the "fancy" iPhone will still get to outclass those with the "plastic/basic" iPhone.

Audit has cars that cost anywhere from 30K to 100k+. If you drive an A3, you still drive an Audi, but those driving an A8 can still look down on you because you have the "basic" Audi.

Guess what? Now Audi can sell cars to (just about) everybody!

 

[onthecouchagain]

HIGHLY skeptical of the projected $300 unlocked price tag.

Even the iPhone 4S is still $549 unlocked.

And the iPhone 4 (a phone that is over 2.5 years old!) is still $450 unlocked. EDIT: And it's only 8GB. That's the only option.

Do the math.

If I had to predict, I'd say it'll likely be in the $379-$399 range, 16GB storage. Maybe even 8GB.

 

[Gym Hellwig]

The first mistake you're making is assuming owning an iPhone is the same as owning a Porsche. Even at it's current "premium" price, using nothing but "premium" parts, just about every schlub in the middle class spectrum can save up for a month or two to get a $700 iPhone. On the other hand, only a few can pay $60,000 for a Porsche without making huge sacrifices to do so.

All tablets and smartphones, regardless of brand, are Toyotas and Nissans.

Make no mistake about it, Apple is a premium brand. Just about everything they make is priced much higher than their competitors (a.k.a "the apple tax"). Consumer electronics can never be directly compared to cars, but to the extent that they can Apple is the Porsche or Mercedes or BMW of the consumer electronics world. As such, they need to be very careful of their brand. If they start releasing cheap junk, they will regret it very shortly thereafter.

 

[maxosx]

Wow...looks cheap, flimsy, and well.....

And to think people are complaining about Samsung?











/ that was sure fun to write.. ha.. ha.. ha..

 

[steve119]

Read what to be exact?

Personally my favorite as pop up books... scratch and sniff.

You can tell.

Try reading his biography instead of throwing insults and making stupid statements coz you know, I could see a late Steve jobs coming to share a few jars with me up in the north east of Scotland.

 

[paradox00]

RIP Apple.

Say goodbye to your quality brand.

----------



If Porsche made an ugly piece of junk car that sold for $12,000, a lot of Porsche owners would be disgusted.

It ruins the brand.

I don't find that case ugly. Definitely not like comparing a Porchee to a $12,000 car (why are all the analogies that people use to debate with bad?).

You clearly don't remember the Plastic Macbook. Apples best selling mac for years.

 

[rmwebs]

the last thing people want is cheap plastic

Do you have a source for that? The 3G and 3Gs sold very well. As did all the Macs that used plastic for over 20 years.

The 3G still feels a hell of a lot nicer hold than the 4 or 5 due to the horrid corners Apple used.

It's a bit silly to suggest that something made out of plastic is a bad thing. At least if you drop it, it wont cost you an arm and a leg for a new rear shell, something that cant be done easily on the 5 as the shell wraps around.

Dont like it? Dont buy it, but dont for one second thing a cheaper iPhone wouldn't be a success.

 

[chrisbru]

So get the iPhone 5. It's cheaper, sleeker, and has more tech cramped into it, ie. Retina display (probably won't be on this plastic version), thinner.

You don't seem to understand that the US carriers mostly subsidize phones, which is the only reason the iPhone 5 is $199/$299/$399. This phone will be $300 (allegedly) with no subsidy. Therefore, much more affordable in countries that don't have subsidies from carriers.

 

[roxxette]

Seriously. Nobody wants to touch cheap plastic phone cases. That is the last thing that any self-respecting apple fan would tolerate.


/s

i love this guy !

 

[LordQ]

Going after new markets is going forward. Not backward.

Even though I agree with you, it's a shame the new market are poor people. Even our housekeeper has an iPhone now... Remember when Apple was exclusive?