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Two New iPhones Spotted in Analytics Data Cast Doubt on Possible iPhone 6c Launch
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Hats off to Tim Cook for doubling down on secrecy. Bugger all rumours this year. Maybe there really is nothing much new on offer, maybe there haven't been enough rumours setting expectations too high for Apple to HAVE to leak to dampen expectations. (Sad that everyone's expectations are so low. Maybe we've given up on Apple doing anything great.)
Has anybody thought that there are no new C iPhones because the old ones will hang around forever, like the Mini iPads? What bothers me is Apple believes it's moved photos and music to the cloud and an 8GB phone may seem MORE of an option than ever before!
Given the often petty incremental improvements to much of Apple's lineup in recent years, often lower specs but better battery life, (larger-screen iPhone, RiMac, MacBook and iPad Air 2 excepted)…
…I'd be happy if Apple announced "No new products, we'er putting 100% of our effort into
No new tv. Apple television services seem further away than ever. 4k downloads being infeasible (the only reason for new tv hardware, no you won't be able to run games and apps), and Blu-ray so late to the party (distributors don't want you to have decent quality product, even if you are prepared to pay for it again), therefore 4k televisions aren't even necessary. At least there's a trickle of 3D to justify 3D televisions.
Maybe the MacBook was the 12" iPad, since it comes in iDevice colours.
Apple has to be working on fixing software and services instead of new products, right?
Has anybody thought that there are no new C iPhones because the old ones will hang around forever, like the Mini iPads? What bothers me is Apple believes it's moved photos and music to the cloud and an 8GB phone may seem MORE of an option than ever before!
Given the often petty incremental improvements to much of Apple's lineup in recent years, often lower specs but better battery life, (larger-screen iPhone, RiMac, MacBook and iPad Air 2 excepted)…
…I'd be happy if Apple announced "No new products, we'er putting 100% of our effort into
- fixing our software so that things that don't work but don't cause a crash come up to expected Apple quality
- developing intelligent and consistent Human Interface Guidelines & making our software a model for all to follow
- and lastly but not least… fixing all our services so they are less complicated and work 100% of the time (redundant systems)
- (and this deserves it's own slide) fixing iTunes so it's simpler and works (podcasts don't even work anymore!)
- we promise to make drag and drop work with Force Touch, especially Text Edit, Safari works, but Text Edit doesn't!!
No new tv. Apple television services seem further away than ever. 4k downloads being infeasible (the only reason for new tv hardware, no you won't be able to run games and apps), and Blu-ray so late to the party (distributors don't want you to have decent quality product, even if you are prepared to pay for it again), therefore 4k televisions aren't even necessary. At least there's a trickle of 3D to justify 3D televisions.
Maybe the MacBook was the 12" iPad, since it comes in iDevice colours.
Apple has to be working on fixing software and services instead of new products, right?
A COO in a CEO position with no vision, or soul. However, I disagree about Angela Ahrendts. She was seduced by the TC Kool Aid. I'm sure she realizes her mistake today, but simply has no choice now. 75 million is a tremendous amount of cash, plus stock options. I feel sympathy for her., too a point. I think at some point in the future when he can legally comment, we will see why John Browett was canned. IMO, I'll wager he told Tim the plan to make Apple the Tiffany's of Electronics was grandiose, and a joke.
Apple Maps (improving daily), Apple Watch, and even more so Apple Music demonstrate how removed Tim is from the role of CEO. Eddy has far too much power, and is no longer kept under control as with Steve. Scott Forestall, IMO, was never really able to recover from Steve's passing. He was caught up in an internal power struggle after Steve passed, and lost. It was devastating for him, and IMO, will never be the same.
I disagree over stock prices. I think there was an overdue correction in AAPL over the past month. Can't blame Tim for China devaluing their currency today. Apple's fine from the view of a COO or CFO in the short term. They can only go so long in this mode though. 80% of profit from one device is not sustainable.
Apple needs all of the proported 11 million AM subscribers to be there after the free trial. If most drop off, I think Tim will be in trouble from the shareholders and the Board of Directors.
Tim is one of histories most talented COO's. He just can't see beyond the "typical 7-10 day inventory."
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Aside from the plastic body, a 6C would be, spec-for-spec, exactly like the 6 just as the 5C was, spec-for-spec, exactly like the 5. This was done to cut down on costs and improve margins. And in keeping with Apple tradition, it will only be offered with 8GB of storage because if you need more storage, there's iCloud.
If I understand correctly iPhones typically launch at the end of the third quarter into the fourth quarter for the main sales. The 6C would then be released in the first quarter, which is the slowest quarter, when a lower gross sale, lower volume, higher margin product might be leaning toward helpful.
Bi-annual renewal rather than annual.
Bi-annual renewal rather than annual.
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That would only be the case if the 6C was released this year. That doesn't seem likely. So where does that leave Apple, in terms of putting it out alongside the 7?
Does it use 6 internals, which would be 2 years old, or 6S internals? They could use 6 internals with the mod-cons of the 6S (Force Touch, better camera, better TouchID), or do they use 6S internals without those mod-cons? Alternatively, it could be like-for-like to the 6S. I doubt that because I'd imagine they'll sell the 6S like they're selling the 5S, 2-3 generations on and it'll still be there.
If I were Apple, I would introduce the 6C alongside the 7 with iP6 internals and 6S mod-cons, with a plastic unibody backing. That keeps costs low whilst still providing an introductory phone to the market. At the same time, I'd phase out the 5S, after phasing out the 5C after this Christmas season passes/firesale New Year.
Huh? Surely you jest, at least in looking back at 5c options. My 5c has 32GB. More than ample, even before considering how the cloud can now reduce some local storage requirements.
So I'm keeping my green 5c if there's no 6c. That steel skeleton and the 4" screen were big selling points for me (plus I was tired of the metal look and I like the silky plastic).
I'll watch the keynote in September but I'll buy my 5c a new case for its 2nd birthday, update my iPad and tether that to the phone if I need some app that stretches capability of the 5c.
If they bring something the size of a 5c sometime, call me. Otherwise it's dumbphone city for me when the 5c finally gives it up. I'm starting to think back fondly on that tiny no-frills Verizon clamshell phone I had sometime back in the 90s. Keep yer laptop-sized "mobile phones"
Yeah, he's 'jesting'. A little while back there was an Apple interview with a senior exec., saying that with iCloud, lower-storage options were viable for those wanting to keep costs low.
Macrumors is flooded with whining about no large screen iPhone.
Apple releases two large screen iPhones and now users are whining about no new small iPhone.
Apple releases two large screen iPhones and now users are whining about no new small iPhone.
This is much more plausible than the rumor earlier today (that we'd see a "6C" in September).
The 5S is still a very good phone, with a fast processor, great screen, and nice build quality. They can simply drop the 5C and continue making the 5S until Spring (or whenever a ~4" replacement is ready).
Eventually there will be good justification for making a smaller phone with updated internals. They need new LTE bands, for one. For example, 3 out of 5 iPhones in the presumed Fall lineup will continue to lack T-Mobile's band 12. Furthermore, the 5S can't take advantage of Carrier Aggregation (which all four national providers are currently rolling out).
The 5S is still a very good phone, with a fast processor, great screen, and nice build quality. They can simply drop the 5C and continue making the 5S until Spring (or whenever a ~4" replacement is ready).
Eventually there will be good justification for making a smaller phone with updated internals. They need new LTE bands, for one. For example, 3 out of 5 iPhones in the presumed Fall lineup will continue to lack T-Mobile's band 12. Furthermore, the 5S can't take advantage of Carrier Aggregation (which all four national providers are currently rolling out).
Get the dumb phone if you like - Verizon promises at least 4 more years of reasonably good voice service for those customers (can't remember if it was 2019 or 2020).If they bring something the size of a 5c sometime, call me. Otherwise it's dumbphone city for me when the 5c finally gives it up. I'm starting to think back fondly on that tiny no-frills Verizon clamshell phone I had sometime back in the 90s. Keep yer laptop-sized "mobile phones"
But seriously consider getting cellular on your new iPad - especially if you have a Verizon share plan where it only adds $10/mo. They've made some serious speed upgrades that your 5C can't take advantage of (for that matter, every carrier has, except maybe AT&T). Either get cellular in the iPad, or get a hotspot (probably they'll have one or two new ones sometime in the Fall that use the latest chipsets).
You're not the only one. In fact I DID EXACTLY THAT. Last winter I got an iPhone6. Used it for about two weeks. Then went into my wife's office and told her that I'd trade her straight across for her 5C. To me the 6 felt like talking into a dinner plate. It's just too big. (For reference, I'm 6' 1" 220lb. I'm a big guy.) I like my phones pocket sized. Right now I'm using the 5C to stream music when I'm at work. It fits in my shirt pocket and works great. The 6 was going to need a holster. No, you're not alone, there's a number of us that want small convenient phones, not a phablet. Unfortunately, I'm getting more and more afraid that Apple has left the 4" screen behind forever. In that case when this iPhone finally gives up the ghost I'm not sure what I'll get.
And my wife? She has her own office so she can use it on speaker phone, which I couldn't. She does e-mail and business stuff on her phone, so she loves it. I write and do art and play games. All of that works better on the iPad, or my Mac for finishing.
I think the phone carriers should sell blocks of data without a time or calendar element for iPad owners with existing iPhone contracts. For instance, I should be able to buy 2, 5, or 10 gb of data for the iPad and use it when I need it. People don't need cellular data as much with an iPad as they would with a phone. I would do that, but I can't justify a recurring monthly bill for iPad cellular data service.
T-Mobile almost lets you do that, for 12 months. You can load up on rollover data in the first or second month, then go down to the lowest plan. But you're still paying every month, unless their free 200MB/mo suits you. $10 extra on another carrier's data share plan is better in many cases. Everyone effectively makes it cheaper if you also have a voice line with them.
But I agree - a tablet is a good use case for pre-paid, non-expiring data.
Still, all this technology costs a little money. If you get a new iPad you're already paying more than $10/mo in device payments and/or depreciation.
I don't literally understand how or why a 6C would exist...if it was a 4" phone...it wouldn't be a 6. It would be in no way an iPhone 6, not even kind of slightly a little. And it would be moronic for it to be named as such. A 5S with plastic on the outside would make more sense...but at the same time, maybe not. The 5C sells poorly enough, and it's not constructed very well. I doubt they'd go to the trouble of re-skinning a 5S...it's just going to be the 5S as free, the 6 at 99, the 6+ at 199, and then the 6S starting at 299 and the 6S+ starting at 299.
I have to call out your assertion that the iPhone 5C isn't well constructed. Do you have an iPhone 5C? I do happen to have one, and construction quality is rock solid, and the composite material used for the body is luxurious. It's not "cheap plastic" by any stretch.
It wouldn't matter if it was a full priced iPhone and had the same specs and design as the other ones! If they just make it smaller but the same quality they can charge full price and cannibalization is not an issue.
Exactly. I'm not in the market for the larger ones. I'd snap up the little one so fast it would make my plans for iPad upgrade wait a couple months... that doesn't count as cannibalism, does it? Think not!
A 4" iPhone 6 is in no way a downgrade, it just fits better in smaller hands.
I know! It's like people think Apple should give customers a choice or something!
Everyone complaining there isn't a smaller option than the iphone 6.... Meanwhile here I cant use the 6 as its way too small for me after using the 6+.
And this is why Apple should offer a choice, everyone has different preferences. A 4.7 inch phone is not better than a 4 inch phone, in the same was that a 4 inch phone is not better than a 5.5 inch phone. Its all down to what works for individual people. For me, the 4.7 and 5.5 inch iPhone 6's are too big to be useful.
I enjoy using my iPhone 5C 32 GB and will happily wait until Apple decides to finally upgrade it. If Apple are worried about cannibalisation, why not indeed release it in the spring 2016? I do prefer a 4" screen for the phone and 5C's cleaner & simpler design over that of 5/5S.
And making the 6 and 6+ suddenly "low cost solutions" or "low cost options" doesn't cheapen the brand or devalue them thus feeling like an extra slap in the face to 6/6+ owners/users?
Especially those hopeful on trading in their devices towards the newer phones