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Tim Cook: iPhone 5c Wasn't Meant to Be an Entry-Level Phone
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It definitely won't get all of whatever the new features in iOS 8 are. But then again, it didn't get all the new features of iOS 7, either. (For comparison: the iPhone 4 lacked some features in iOS 6, and it still got iOS 7.)
The 4S still sells for a lot of money. I don't see this three-stage market disappear soon, especially considering iPhones are increasingly more expensive. 16 or even 8GB should disappear, this is simply too small to be comfortable given common apps sizes.
It's obvious at this point that the iPhone 5c was not intended to be entry level, but what Tim Cook misses is that a $450 phone (iphone 4s) is not entry level! Not when the Nokia Lumia 520 sells for $100 and the Nexus 4 is $200. Those are entry level smartphones. Apple does not have an entry level phone.
On t-mobile you can get a 5c for zero dollars down, and 21 dollars a month. T-mobile also knocks $30 off the list price.
Of course the community got it completely wrong in that we thought the C stood for Cheap when instead it was color. But it's not an unreasonable conclusion. I don't get the point of the 5C (although it's a nice phone.. its just.. unneccesary). Apple could have made a third iphone and sold it in between the 5c and 5s prices, but what would be the point? The point of a new model should be to increase overall sales. The ipad and ipad mini do this to an extent, as they appeal to slightly different groups, but the iphone 5c accomplished nothing a colorful case would have. Is Apple better today with a 5c and 5s versus if they only produced the 5s and sold the old 5 cheaper? If not then why waste your technical resources in developing a phone for the used iphone 5 market? It takes a lot of Apple R&D to make a good product, because they do it right, and do it well. Just think of the opportunity cost they wasted here.
Those are the prices without a contract?
What kind of company tries to lose money on sales in the hopes of propping up a meaningless marketshare statistic?
They are scamming the consumer because some analysts and rumor mills made up some predictions of the future based on nothing. They then got angry that they were wrong, but blamed reality instead of themselves. And a big enough group of people bought into the made up stories that they somehow believed that Apple missed the mark, rather than the analysts and forum bloggers getting it wrong.
Mindboggling numbers, considering we're only ~7Billion strong, men, women and children, rich or poor, plus Apple is of course far from the only handset manufacturer in the world. With his 'wildly optimistic' hope for 10 million units sold in 2008, Steve would be pleased as punch with these phenomenal sales figures, and all that in just six years!
Took a trip down memory lane, and looked at some of the 2007 predictions made for the iPhone's outlook; with the benefit of hindsight, hilarious! http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-predictions-from-2007-2012-6?op=1
I believe he said its the entry level iPhone, not an entry level phone. Its like an entry level car vs an entry level specific brand of car - two very different things.
I guess it has to do with differentiation. I know some people who bought an iPhone 4 instead of an iPhone 4S when it was released because they didnt see a difference between the two worth 100$... And now they regret it. I guess with different designs, it fixes some things and Apple will sell more iPhone 5S this way.
I guess next year, there'll be the 5C, 5S and the iPhone 6, making a second plastic iPhone would feel cheap again and won't create any differentiation anyway
To the tune of 130 million phones in FY2013. I bet the blackberry were wishing for that kind of denial. And nokia. And lg. And htc.
Edit: Oops.. I should learn to read. To the tune of 150 million phones in 2013.
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The c is to cut cost, apple cost. Notice how Tim conveniently did not mention the 5. I think your theory is right, 5c will be the $450, 5sc $550, and 6 will be $650
You get a WORSE deal on contract, but it is slightly more convenient, and in the past the only way to use iphone (inertia at work).
Case A
Subsidized iphone 5s costs $200. The cheapest contract plan on Verizon is $80. ATT is $70, but that includes only 300MB data. PLUS MONTHLY TAXES which I don't have the info on, but EASILY $10 more a month, probably twice that. So lets say MINIMUM $80+10 * 24 + $200= $2,360 for a basic plan or $110+10 x 24 +$200 = $3,080 for 4GB of data (high usage).
Case B
Purchase iphone for 650. Monthly plans as low as $39 (Ultramobile) $45 (GoSmart) and $40 (Spotmobile). $40 + 24 + 650 = $1,610
So we have $1,610 vs $2,360 or a minimum difference of $750. Enough to buy a 32GB cellular ipad and get 200MB of free data from t mobile.
There may be reasons for buying an iphone under contract for some people. But price is NOT one of them.
Those are the prices without a contract?
What kind of company tries to lose money on sales in the hopes of propping up a meaningless marketshare statistic?
In free markets, the price of products usually adjust to what people are willing to pay for them.
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Don't let facts interfere with your narrative.
We'll have a 5c as "last year's version", a 6c as the slightly cheaper but more colorful version and the premium 6 probably still in aluminum and glass. I like this lineup. As Tim mentioned, now they have three phones at three different price points. Once we get the devices with the old connectors and 3.5" screens out of the way, the lineup will seem more cohesive.
Let me just clarify something for all the doubters on this board regards Apple and a "cheap" iPhone.
A few years back now (when Steve Jobs was still alive) when I worked at Apple, Tim Cook gave a presentation to staff (an all hands internal) and in this presentation he stated categorically Apple have no interest in producing budget phones. They are happy for other companies to be scraping by with $1 profits per devices (i.e. Nokia) whilst Apple products are purely aimed at the high end, plus large profit margin market.
Apple have zero interest in the budget market, didn't when Steve Jobs was alive and obviously still don't and given the sales figues of the new 5S why should they be?
A few years back now (when Steve Jobs was still alive) when I worked at Apple, Tim Cook gave a presentation to staff (an all hands internal) and in this presentation he stated categorically Apple have no interest in producing budget phones. They are happy for other companies to be scraping by with $1 profits per devices (i.e. Nokia) whilst Apple products are purely aimed at the high end, plus large profit margin market.
Apple have zero interest in the budget market, didn't when Steve Jobs was alive and obviously still don't and given the sales figues of the new 5S why should they be?
I believe next year 5c will be free, & they will introduce a 6c and a 6s...
Year after- 6c is free... they introduce a 7c & 7s, etc, etc.....
Please don't be ridiculous!
The term "free phone" is very, very, very, very mainstream. Surely you've heard this phrase before?? It means: "free with contract". Anybody feeling the bizarre need to point out this obvious & well known definition.... pretending that the user of this commonly understood term instead thought it meant "absolutely free... no strings attached... our company is a charity" is either being a nitpicking grammar nazi equivalent... or is just plain desperate for something to argue about.
They will be compatible with iOS 8. Compatible doesn't mean it runs great, but it will run it. Besides, iOS 7 actually ran pretty well on my iPhone 4 (I actually did a full restore and didn't use a backup). Although I sold it a week later when I got my 5S.