Vodafone Germany to Discontinue 32/64GB iPhone 5, 16GB iPhone 4S

[Cruddley]

I don't think so, I think the 5C, being offered in 6 colors, will be one model, without LTE. Want LTE? iPhone 5 or 5S. 5S will have different colors also (no black, graphite, champagne gold, white). I think Apple will sell many of the 5C. I also think they would not be able to keep up with production if it came with LTE, and that gives the incentive to go with iPhone 5. I also think it will be $49 on contract, not $0. Apple hasn't always had a $0 phone on contract.

With that, I think, but, can't make up my mind, the 5C will be 16GB, iPhone 5 16 w/LTE (32 or 32/64 until I saw this rumor). Plus, Apple's lineup right now is 4-8GB/4S-16GB/5-16/32/64, so, only options with the top-of-the line model.

You could be right. LTE is certainly the variable, and whether or not the 5C has it, will dictate the price points. I just have trouble with the idea of a newer phone sitting below an older phone price wise. Maybe a new price structure goes well with a different product lineup. Not long to find out anyway.

 

[negrohero9]

If this is true, then my previous lineup was just a bit off...hmmm...just not sure where 5C will be.

iPhone 5C (no LTE, plastic back) 16GB $49 w/contract 6 colors

I justify 5C having no LTE as then they can make only one universal global model (like 4S). I just don't think they have a single chip that can do all the LTE/4G versions and be low power enough to prevent battery drain yet. (Yet...maybe next year they will.). I also justify this because no leaks have indicated one way or another if the 5C has LTE or not. Apple will save a lot of production costs with the plastic back, if it is actually as seen in leaks.

(previously I thought the iphone 5 would be 32GB)

I disagree I believe the 5c will be LTE definitely with Verizon moving away from any networks besides it.
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/08/13/verizon-cfo-lays-out-verizons-volte-roadmap/

 

[Zyphras]

If they're keeping the 8GB iPhone 4 the very least they could do is slash its price. It's still $450/€399/£319 which is kind of crazy considering its capacity/processor/camera.

 

[Cruddley]

Interesting choices ahead

It will be really interesting in my household. My wife needs and wants an iPhone now, I can afford to wait for the 6. My wife would be quite happy with the cheapest offering (she usually is), and has been asking for quite some time why they don't make iPhones with the same cool colour offerings of the iPod touch! Seems as though all her Christmases are coming at once. For me, I don't think anything is going to wow me that much into replacing my ip4. I'm going for a 4th year out of it, and will be happy if it makes it. I just think the ip6 is going to be the next big jump, and if I buy now, I won't be buying next year. This does of course mean having an ip4 for another year, and I don't know how it will cope, especially with ios7. Not well probably. It still does everything I need it to do though, albeit very slowly.....

I actually hope we are all wrong, and Apple manages to wow us all with something totally unexpected. Been a while since they have done that though. The ip4 was the last time anyone went ooooh...aaahhh.

 

[pmau]

The iPhone4/4S are discontinued because of the 30-pin connector ... obviously.

 

[lewisd25]

I've never seen so many mini Tim Cooks in one place before...

 

[pmau]

I've never seen so many mini Tim Cooks in one place before...

You've never been here before?

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Well the 5S will have 4 colors, so your C explanation doesn't pan out.

5C stands for Color and Composite Materials [non-Aluminum].

----------

This is why I think the 5C will not have LTE...everyone is assuming it will be internally the same as iPhone 5, maybe, all but the LTE chip. This will make a cheap production for Apple as they can go with one universal global model like the 4S was, and with the cheaper to produce plastic back, they can offer more colors.

currently the iPhone 4 & the 4S both do not have LTE. The 5C is rumored to be the base model iPhone, and no rumors of LTE in it or not....

It'll be equal or better than the iPhone 5, sans the new A7 [CPU/GPGPU], sans LTE Advanced [LTE yes], sans 128GB options, sans Finger Print, sans the same exact Camera and array of sensors as the 5S.

 

[tonytiger13]

Since we're doing this, I'll throw in my guess (which seems to be the thought of most people here).

• iPhone 5S 128GB @ $399
• iPhone 5S 64GB @ $299
• iPhone 5S 32GB @ $199
• iPhone 5 16GB @ $99
• iPhone 5C 16GB @ $0

Like many, I think the plastic of the 5C will be enough to differentiate from the 5. The fact that the 5C is a new product with a price tag of $0 will win over many people. It may have a slower processor, but I think it'll have the same as the iPhone 5 (so A6). All will have the same display size, the same lightning port, and be capable of Siri. The 5C should be able to do all features of iOS7 so the AirDrop feature should be enabled, unlike the 4S and below. The 5S will have the additional 2 colors (Graphite and Champagne). The 5S will also have a high frame-rate camera for slow motion effects and a finger print scanner of course. I'm not so sold on Apple releasing the finger print scanner API yet, but I'd be real happy if they do. The Siri API release needs to happen now so Google doesn't launch so far ahead with voice recognition, but I doubt Siri is ready for primetime in that sense. No changes to the iPhone 5 except price drop and, as the article says, they drop the 32 and 64 GB models.

China Telecom announcement will be a big part of the event before new phones are announced.

Some other things I hope to see but will likely not happen this time (or ever):

LTE-Advance
iPad and iPad mini updates
iPhone 5 gets slow motion feature
iWatch (bring back "One more thing..." Tim!)
Maverick release announcement
iTV (yea right)
Apple TV update (this is actually a possibility)
Haswell Updates all around
Thunderbolt 2 (whoop dee doo )
Retina MacBook Air (it'd be next year, I know)

 

[Cruddley]

If they're keeping the 8GB iPhone 4 the very least they could do is slash its price. It's still $450/€399/£319 which is kind of crazy considering its capacity/processor/camera.

in a rumour debate where it was once suggested they might cut the 5 ,in what world would they ever keep the 4 (at any price)?

 

[FMT]

Apple releasing a new phone for $0 on contract.....I call BS. Wont happen.

 

[xofruitcake]

Not quite.

iPhone 5S 32GB, $199
iPhone 5 16GB, $99
iPhone 5C 16GB, $0

There you go.

ha ha, not quite..

iPhone 5S 16GB, $199
iPhone 5 16GB, $99
iPhone 5C 16GB, $0

Why would anyone think that 5S will start at 32GB?? There is absolutely no reason to reduce the price by 100 by giving additional storage for free (compare to 5).. 5S line up should be 16G, 32G, 64G and 128G.. And anyone who want 128G will pay through their nose.. But at least that is another choice. In case anyone does not notice, Apple has trouble with gross margin in the last 12 months. They move from low 40ish% GM to high 30ish% GM. The difference means billions of dollars in earning. 128g option is there to increase gross margin, not decrease it.

 

[benji888]

I disagree I believe the 5c will be LTE definitely with Verizon moving away from any networks besides it.
http://www.droid-life.com/2013/08/13/verizon-cfo-lays-out-verizons-volte-roadmap/

that's idealistic, AT&T is still playing catch-up with Edge, plans to do away with edge by Jan 2017, so not in a hurry (I drive on major Interstate highways w/3G/Edge or even GPRS or dead zones still) so, that, and the fact that some other countries are not up to speed on LTE yet, plus, the Apple has 2 phones selling today that do not have LTE.

You could be right. LTE is certainly the variable, and whether or not the 5C has it, will dictate the price points. I just have trouble with the idea of a newer phone sitting below an older phone price wise. Maybe a new price structure goes well with a different product lineup. Not long to find out anyway.

5C stands for Color and Composite Materials [non-Aluminum].----------

It'll be equal or better than the iPhone 5, sans the new A7 [CPU/GPGPU], sans LTE Advanced [LTE yes], sans 128GB options, sans Finger Print, sans the same exact Camera and array of sensors as the 5S.

...Like many, I think the plastic of the 5C will be enough to differentiate from the 5.

I agree with mdriftmeyer, but, sticking with $49 on contract for 5C. ...Rumors have pointed to the fact that the 5C will be Apple's new Base model iPhone. So, they have to take something out of it. I think it will be the same as iPhone 5 internally, except without LTE, so it can do everything software wise, but, save production costs, and have an incentive to get the 5 or 5S. Just changing the back, while it does save on production, and the design looks very easy to do multiple colors, they have to have one globally universal model like the 4S is now. (iPhone 5 has 3 models, depending on carrier.)

You could look at it as the 5C replacing the 4 and the iPhone 5 replacing the 4S.

 

[benji888]

iPhone 5S 16GB, $199
iPhone 5 16GB, $99
iPhone 5C 16GB, $0

Why would anyone think that 5S will start at 32GB?? There is absolutely no reason to reduce the price by 100 by giving additional storage for free (compare to 5).. 5S line up should be 16G, 32G, 64G and 128G.. And anyone who want 128G will pay through their nose.. But at least that is another choice. In case anyone does not notice, Apple has trouble with gross margin in the last 12 months. They move from low 40ish% GM to high 30ish% GM. The difference means billions of dollars in earning. 128g option is there to increase gross margin, not decrease it.

Too much production costs there. ...That means too many different models for Apple to make, when you combine the 4 memory offerings and LTE may still not be on one chip yet (maybe next year), ...see, the iPhone 5 has 3 models depending on carrier/country, then 2 colors, and 3 memory configs, that's 18 different iPhone 5s they are making.

If Apple does 3 colors with 5S, then 4 memory configs. that would be 36 different models. Too many.

I find 16GB limiting with music & photos, then add videos, and it's all maxed out. 5S may have better camera too? Nah, previously (currently) 8GB was the base, 16GB was where top of line started, I think they will drop the bottom off both, 5S will be 32/64/128GB.

 

[calaverasgrande]

please tell me this doesnt mean gold is the new white and grey is the new slate.

 

[mrjr101]

Since we're doing this, I'll throw in my guess (which seems to be the thought of most people here).

• iPhone 5S 128GB @ $399
• iPhone 5S 64GB @ $299
• iPhone 5S 32GB @ $199
• iPhone 5 16GB @ $99
• iPhone 5C 16GB @ $0

Like many, I think the plastic of the 5C will be enough to differentiate from the 5. The fact that the 5C is a new product with a price tag of $0 will win over many people. It may have a slower processor, but I think it'll have the same as the iPhone 5 (so A6). All will have the same display size, the same lightning port, and be capable of Siri. The 5C should be able to do all features of iOS7 so the AirDrop feature should be enabled, unlike the 4S and below. The 5S will have the additional 2 colors (Graphite and Champagne). The 5S will also have a high frame-rate camera for slow motion effects and a finger print scanner of course. I'm not so sold on Apple releasing the finger print scanner API yet, but I'd be real happy if they do. The Siri API release needs to happen now so Google doesn't launch so far ahead with voice recognition, but I doubt Siri is ready for primetime in that sense. No changes to the iPhone 5 except price drop and, as the article says, they drop the 32 and 64 GB models.

China Telecom announcement will be a big part of the event before new phones are announced.

Some other things I hope to see but will likely not happen this time (or ever):

LTE-Advance
iPad and iPad mini updates
iPhone 5 gets slow motion feature
iWatch (bring back "One more thing..." Tim!)
Maverick release announcement
iTV (yea right)
Apple TV update (this is actually a possibility)
Haswell Updates all around
Thunderbolt 2 (whoop dee doo )
Retina MacBook Air (it'd be next year, I know)

Totally agree with the iphone cost analysis although I won't be surprised if they are offered for $49 with contract. If sales don't do too well with the 5C this quarter expect a quick drop to $0 next quarter. If they keep it the same price for the entire year, the C series will be history for Apple. Whereas if sales do really well with the 5C expect a bump in price to $99 in the next iteration of the C iphone next year.

 

[Dmunjal]

That would be great personally, I'd be all over an iPhone 5 for for $100, even with the extra $150 tacked on to ditch my android contract. I don't much care for the idea for a plastic iPhone and love the design / hardware of the 5.

You can do it now. No reason to wait. And save $2 to boot!

http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/01/technology/mobile/walmart-iphone-5/index.html

 

[joemama]

Do you think Apple would release a new iphone 5C that isn't as good as the current iPhone 5? That makes no sense. Why would someone pay to have an older phone?

I can see the 5 being free to simply get rid of inventory. Then the 5C @ $49 or $99, and the 5S at $199.

And the 5C having only 8GB, no way, not with Apple ramming free Apps down people's throats. I can't imagine that. And not with Samsung just waiting to find flaws to expose.

 

[juanmanas]

So the line up will be: iPhone5 Stale.....iPhone5 Cheap....and iPhone5 Outdated?

My personal iphone 5 "outdated" blows away my work samsung S4.

So looking forward the "stale" one.

 

[scbn]

No. I don't think there is a 5C 8GB. The 16GB iPhone 5C could start at $49 in the US.

 

[GodWhomIsMike]

I will be very disappointed if there is no 64GB iPhone 5C.

 

[freddiecable]

You got valid points! 5S, 5C and 4S would be a 'bigger' differentiation. However - keeping the 4S will make Apple appear like 'stone-age'. I see a big trend in Scandinavia where the impression of Apple = 'old'. It is a lot about tactics here as well.

AND - Apple - get with the program. You gotta have a wider range of screen sizes. There IS a relevant demand in different screen size. One size does not fit all anymore. Mature market...here the bell ringing? (not intended for you 'theOtherGeoff').

Confusion in the product pricing. the 5 and the 5c are supposedly the same phone underneath, performance wise, but if I were to guess, the 5c will have an updated set of hardware that allows it to live longer with more functionality in the OS/HW roadmap. I'm hoping the 5c will get the fingerprint technology as well... as that would definitely drive a greater adoption of it by app developers and other parties who would really benefit from that step up in authentication.

All that said, if the 5 and the 5c are basically the same phone, why have both? My guess is they will sell the 5 in the 16GB size until they run out, and then a 16gb 5c will show up.


the 4s is definitely a less expensive phone to make 'now' given that all its R&D and production startup costs have been recouped. It also supports a niche market of organizations that require X amount of years support of a particular form factor when they make bulk buys (think companies, like say, Apple, that have built retail apps coupled with custom hardware onto the 4 'handprint' or Gov't agencies that buy a couple thousand phones and write an app that must work for X years per funding cycles, and they put it into the GSA contract that the hardware must be supported by the HW supplier for X+2 years). One could say the same for the 3GS and the Ipad 2.

 

[iMcLovin]

I think Apple will discontinue all other phones than the 5S and 5C...most likely 5C will be so fast and so cheap that selling the 4S or 5 would seem kind of pointless. I also think one other main reason for apple to release the 5C, apart from offering a cheaper model, is to be able to discontinue the cheaper old models they have in the system that are using the old dock connector (4s and 4). I mean at this point no other apple product is using the old connector.

 

[tonytiger13]

Totally agree with the iphone cost analysis although I won't be surprised if they are offered for $49 with contract. If sales don't do too well with the 5C this quarter expect a quick drop to $0 next quarter. If they keep it the same price for the entire year, the C series will be history for Apple. Whereas if sales do really well with the 5C expect a bump in price to $99 in the next iteration of the C iphone next year.

I can see it at $49, but imagine the smirk on Tim's face when he drops the big fat $0 or "Free" on that keynote behind him. The cheers and applause. It's not innovation unfortunately, so I think Apple will do it to get that "Ooooooh, Aaaaaah" affect.

I completely disagree with raising of price in 1 year if it does well. Apple has never and will never raise the price of one of their product lines unless there are drastic changes or they'll call it a new line. So if 5C does well, expect it to stay that way. They'll make their money from the cellular companies. Remember, most of their sales will come from China unsubsidized. So, for the reason of being able to "drop" the price, I am somewhat leaning towards the $49 price point now.

 

[sinfonye]

the 4s is definitely a less expensive phone to make 'now' given that all its R&D and production startup costs have been recouped.

Yes, but Apple only has a few products in its lineup and has huge sales potential/profit for each line. Blowing $30M or so in development probably doesn't matter to them.

I'd expect them to have new internals in the 5c (or at least ones adapted from the 5) - that will make the phone more competitive and give it a longer life.