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You Know What? Screw the 5c

James717 said:
isn't the flagship the 5S?


Buy the 5C if you would've bought the 5. Cheaper than the 5.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. In Apple's previous MO, the iPhone 5 would now be the same price as the 5C, with the 5S taking the top spot and the 4S the entry-level model.

Instead of the 5, we get the 5C, which is bulkier, heavier, and depending on your taste, much uglier.

If you love the design of the 5C, you only get a device that is bulkier and heavier.

If you, like me, wanted the iPhone 5 at a mid-range price point, tough.

Like many, I expected the 5C to replace the 4S. Unfortunately, not.
 
VTECaddict said:
This was a strategic move by Apple. You don't like the 5C? Then you're not their target market. Go buy the 5S or a 5 on clearance and call it a day.

1. Profit margin. Cheaper to produce than an iPhone 5, but selling for the same price an iPhone 5 would have been if they kept it in the lineup. Brilliant.

2. Forcing more sales of the high end model. I'm sure with the 4/4S, there were droves of customers that looked at both, and went with the 4. It looks the same. They don't care about specs, didn't care about Siri, so they went with the cheaper option because to them it's the same thing. Apple loses. The 5C eliminates that scenario. $100 difference for a much more premium quality device that doesn't look like a toy? Uh, yeah...no brainer. I'll take the 5S please. Apple wins. Even if they pick the 5C, Apple still wins (see #1).

3. Teens/tweens/hipsters/whatever. Complaining because the 5C colors are not professional looking and you wouldn't be caught dead with one? Well it's not for you. Business people, adults, professionals, what have you...they already have an iPhone. They have money. They're going to get the top of the line model because they know the extra $100 up front is peanuts in the long run. Young people getting their first phone or first smartphone are the target for the 5C. Middle school kids. High school kids. Trendy college students. Maybe a handful of hip/trendy people in their late 20s and early 30s. Parents will be buying them for their children. People that follow tech blogs and are interested in the specs of the phone are definitely NOT the target market. At all. Remember that we are only a very, very small subset of the consumer market.

The 5C was never meant to be a budget iPhone. The full retail price doesn't matter to people that are looking for midrange or low end smartphones anyway, so stop balking about it. If you're bitching about the price, it's not for you. Just buy the 5S and be done with it. People that shop for a midrange or low end smartphone only care about the subsidized price, and Apple has been playing that market with the $0 and $99 on contract models very well. There's no need to create a whole new, dedicated "cheap" model. Apple doesn't do cheap.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right but I guess it still irks those of us that we're hoping apple would take a shot at the lower end to push the iOS ecosystem to more users. Apple doesn't do cheap (price) but they certainly cheaped out on the 5c regardless of how dense and premium Ive says it feels. Can't imagine Jobs would have let something like this see the light of day. Those 5c cases for example are just silly:

"They don't feel like an afterthought because they were always part of the design. The result is a case that feels like a part of the phone, not just something designed around it."

Then you look at the holes in the back and how the iPhone text shows through yet cut off with no thought to it at all. Color is fine and apple knows how to do it (iPod, touch, nano, shuffle) but this one baffles me.
 
Apples been getting a lot of criticism for using their old phones as the cheap models, I thought it was brilliant.

The 5c is an iP5 with the illusion of a new product to appease the naysayers. Buyers don't like the idea of buying the 'old' phone.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the trend will be to move the 5s into a plastic shell and so on. The "6 & 6c."
 
It is stupidly expensive.

Apple genuinely made a mistake here, I feel.

£469 for the cheapest UK 5C is just ridiculous, 90% of people would probably pay the extra £90 for a flagship 5S.

It should have been no more than £399. Max.
 
I initially thought the 5C was a great idea, since it would be targeted at emerging markets. Unfortunately, this isn't the case, and it's damn expensive for a plastic phone.

They really should have priced it at $400-$450 and limited it to China, India, Indonesia, etc. As for western markets, they should have continued the 4 or 4S as the base model, which still looked elegant thanks to its quality materials, and still rather stylish design. I just hope Apple's advertising focuses on the 5S, since I think the 5C will only cheapen the brand, especially when wearing those cases.
 
JaySoul said:
It is stupidly expensive.

Apple genuinely made a mistake here, I feel.

£469 for the cheapest UK 5C is just ridiculous, 90% of people would probably pay the extra £90 for a flagship 5S.

It should have been no more than £399. Max.
Click to expand...

You can bet that was their intent all along.
 
VTECaddict said:
You can bet that was their intent all along.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but surely the market for the "budget" iPhone is a lot larger?

And it would act as a gateway drug to the flagship iPhone...

I question who is making these decisions at Apple.
 
JaySoul said:
Perhaps, but surely the market for the "budget" iPhone is a lot larger?

And it would act as a gateway drug to the flagship iPhone...

I question who is making these decisions at Apple.
Click to expand...

What exact is this "budget" iPhone people want so much??

Is $0 on contract for the iPhone 4S not budget enough? Are you all expecting Apple to make a sub-$250 contract free iPhone to compete with the bottom of the barrel Android phones on prepaid carriers?
 
The 5C is said to be aimed at emerging economies such as India & China. However, I doubt Indians & Chinese are stupid enough to fall for this pricing trick. If you have the cash to go for 5C, there's no reason to put an extra 100 bucks to upgrade to the apparently better 5S.

fail.apple.com
 
Apple stock went down a bit with the "C" announcement, and the flack over this, my prediction will be, Apple will either have to lower the cost of this pretty soon, drop it all together, or end this "C" model next year. Who ever came up with this dumb release might be in for a rough time. If its Tim Cook, the share holders will jump all over him. Just a common sense guess.
 
When did apple say they were making a cheap phone?When did they say they want to get rid of the 30 pin dock connector?

Stop listening to dumbass analyst and the tech media.
 
VTECaddict said:
What exact is this "budget" iPhone people want so much??

Is $0 on contract for the iPhone 4S not budget enough? Are you all expecting Apple to make a sub-$250 contract free iPhone to compete with the bottom of the barrel Android phones on prepaid carriers?
Click to expand...

No, I'm just saying that off-contract, it should be no more than £399 for the 16gb iPhone 5C.

That kind of pricing makes sense.

The "flagship" model has been increased year on year, too.
 
NickPhamUK said:
The 5C is said to be aimed at emerging economies such as India & China. However, I doubt Indians & Chinese are stupid enough to fall for this pricing trick.

fail.apple.com
Click to expand...
I have a challenge for you. Where did it officially state that the iPhone 5C was to be aimed at emerging economies like China and India, and could you provide evidence to back that claim up?

I think your post is a classic example of where the rumour mill has merged with the actual reality.
 
Bremel said:
I can only speak for Belgium. But think this is the same in many countries:
the contracts without phones are a lot cheaper than contracts with subsidized phones.

For example I have an unlocked phone with a contract for €15 a month. You can get about the same (two year) contract with a subsidized phone for €45 a month.

So let's to the math:
about €700 for an unlocked phone + 24 x €15 = €1060
or €200 for your phone on contract + 24 x €45 = €1280

So who payed more for his phone in the end? Plus you have to stay with the same carrier for 2 years in the second case (or you have to pay the remaining price of the phone). In my case: If suddenly another carrier offers a better deal. I'm free to change when I like.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

Pleas feel free to correct me if this isn't the case in other countries.
Click to expand...

So I guess the moral of the story is, for 220 euro you could've had the phone you really wanted?
 
VTECaddict said:
What exact is this "budget" iPhone people want so much??

Is $0 on contract for the iPhone 4S not budget enough? Are you all expecting Apple to make a sub-$250 contract free iPhone to compete with the bottom of the barrel Android phones on prepaid carriers?
Click to expand...

Dont try to make other people opinions look stupid by exaggeration.

No one was expecting a 250 Dollar phone. People were simply demanding a phone that had a reasonable off contract price. That would be around 400-450 USD. That is not crazy at all for a phone with last year specs and cheaper materials.
 
You Know What? Screw the 5c

You guys are so prissy!

Every year Apple gives you more stuff with each phone- with no price increase,and no one admits that.

So the 5S has:

New iOS
First smartphone with 64 bit fast chip
Working fingerprint sensor
Novel and innovation setting duo tone LED flash
Improved camera- lens and sensor
Better battery life

All great innovations

And the 5C is this years 5, at 33% less subsidized price!

Hard coated polycarbonate back- so if you do ding it- it will show the same color- no bare metal showing through.

Jeez, you'll probably snap on an Otterbox regardless.

And for years you've been buying a top end 'plastic' Android at the same price point!

What nonsense on this thread.

It's not a cheap phone, but I'm thinking the critics here are cheap. Your complaining that you might as well spend $100 more for the 5S because the 5C isn't cheap enough?

Amazing!
 
VTECaddict said:
This was a strategic move by Apple. You don't like the 5C? Then you're not their target market. Go buy the 5S or a 5 on clearance and call it a day.

1. Profit margin. Cheaper to produce than an iPhone 5, but selling for the same price an iPhone 5 would have been if they kept it in the lineup. Brilliant.

2. Forcing more sales of the high end model. I'm sure with the 4/4S, there were droves of customers that looked at both, and went with the 4. It looks the same. They don't care about specs, didn't care about Siri, so they went with the cheaper option because to them it's the same thing. Apple loses. The 5C eliminates that scenario. $100 difference for a much more premium quality device that doesn't look like a toy? Uh, yeah...no brainer. I'll take the 5S please. Apple wins. Even if they pick the 5C, Apple still wins (see #1).

3. Teens/tweens/hipsters/whatever. Complaining because the 5C colors are not professional looking and you wouldn't be caught dead with one? Well it's not for you. Business people, adults, professionals, what have you...they already have an iPhone. They have money. They're going to get the top of the line model because they know the extra $100 up front is peanuts in the long run. Young people getting their first phone or first smartphone are the target for the 5C. Middle school kids. High school kids. Trendy college students. Maybe a handful of hip/trendy people in their late 20s and early 30s. Parents will be buying them for their children. People that follow tech blogs and are interested in the specs of the phone are definitely NOT the target market. At all. Remember that we are only a very, very small subset of the consumer market.

The 5C was never meant to be a budget iPhone. The full retail price doesn't matter to people that are looking for midrange or low end smartphones anyway, so stop balking about it. If you're bitching about the price, it's not for you. Just buy the 5S and be done with it. People that shop for a midrange or low end smartphone only care about the subsidized price, and Apple has been playing that market with the $0 and $99 on contract models very well. There's no need to create a whole new, dedicated "cheap" model. Apple doesn't do cheap.
Click to expand...

+1

This is why Apple is the most profitable company ever. Every move they make, makes them money. And in the end, that's all they care about. And there is nothing wrong with that.
 
viewfly said:
Every year Apple gives you more stuff with each phone- with no price increase,and no one admits that.
Click to expand...

That's kind of the point with technology; more bang for your buck as time goes on and production costs drop.
 
As Apple continues to milk the current 4 / 4S / 5/ 5S, it's a good thing they have the cheaper to build 5C to fatten their bottom line. A plastic iPhone will save Apple from slipping back further.

----------
AJAAY said:
+1

This is why Apple is the most profitable company ever. Every move they make, makes them money. And in the end, that's all they care about. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...

Very well said. We have other choices like the brilliant new Android phones that are coming to life right before our eyes.
 
viewfly said:
You guys are so prissy!

Every year Apple gives you more stuff with each phone- with no price increase,and no one admits that.
Click to expand...

Oh god. I forgot. I should kneel in front of Tim Cook and kiss his feet :rolleyes::rolleyes: At this point they are basically giving their Phones away for free.
 
Velin said:
Never should have listened to the pundits concerning the 5c being a "mid-market" phone, this is top-of-the-market pricing. Now I really regret not having purchased the Google Nexus 4, especially after they cut the price to $199 no-contract: the Nexus 4 has now been sold out for quite some time and I don't think any more will be available since Nexus 5 is coming. Could have bought two Nexus 4s for a third of the price of the iPhone 5c. Total BS.
Click to expand...

What a bizarre rant.

You listened to pundits speculating on rumours and based your purchasing decision based no facts whatsoever.
 
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