Rumor: Apple to ship 'iPhone 5S' and more affordable iPhone in August 2013
Apple reportedly plans to build a more affordable iPhone model this August alongside launch a new world mode "iPhone 5S" featuring compatibility with China Mobile, the largest carrier in the world.
The details were reported on Friday by Chinese tech news site EMSOne (translation), which cited analysts from Barclays Capital. It claimed that a "cheap edition" of the iPhone will be built this year by both Foxconn, Apple's usual manufacturing partner, as well as Pegatron.
The report suggests that Foxconn will also be the exclusive manufacturer of Apple's next-generation "iPhone 5S." It was not indicated that Pegatron had received any orders for the company's next flagship handset.
Unlike the current iPhone 5, which requires different models for separate carriers with unique LTE frequencies, the so-called "iPhone 5S" is expected to be a world phone that will add compatibility with new carriers, including China Mobile.
That ability could be aided by Qualcomm's latest LTE chipset, which operates on 40 bands, including all existing LTE networks. China Mobile, which has nearly 700 million total subscribers, utilizes an obscure TD-SCDMA network that is incompatible with the current iPhone 5.
As for the cheaper iPhone, Friday's report claimed it will not be a world phone, and will only support the frequency division duplex (FDD) flavor of LTE. China Mobile's network uses time division duplexing (TDD) for its LTE network.
The report comes on the heels of a separate one out of Japan issued on Thursday, which claimed that Apple is planning to cut costs by building its next iPhone out of polycarbonate, similar to the company's retired white MacBook. It was said that Apple plans to charge around $330 without a service contract for its entry-level iPhone.
The details were reported on Friday by Chinese tech news site EMSOne (translation), which cited analysts from Barclays Capital. It claimed that a "cheap edition" of the iPhone will be built this year by both Foxconn, Apple's usual manufacturing partner, as well as Pegatron.
The report suggests that Foxconn will also be the exclusive manufacturer of Apple's next-generation "iPhone 5S." It was not indicated that Pegatron had received any orders for the company's next flagship handset.
Unlike the current iPhone 5, which requires different models for separate carriers with unique LTE frequencies, the so-called "iPhone 5S" is expected to be a world phone that will add compatibility with new carriers, including China Mobile.
That ability could be aided by Qualcomm's latest LTE chipset, which operates on 40 bands, including all existing LTE networks. China Mobile, which has nearly 700 million total subscribers, utilizes an obscure TD-SCDMA network that is incompatible with the current iPhone 5.
As for the cheaper iPhone, Friday's report claimed it will not be a world phone, and will only support the frequency division duplex (FDD) flavor of LTE. China Mobile's network uses time division duplexing (TDD) for its LTE network.
The report comes on the heels of a separate one out of Japan issued on Thursday, which claimed that Apple is planning to cut costs by building its next iPhone out of polycarbonate, similar to the company's retired white MacBook. It was said that Apple plans to charge around $330 without a service contract for its entry-level iPhone.
Comments
Ahhh....another day, another cheap iPhone rumor. Eventually someone will be right because we have just about every month between now and the end of 2014.
Originally Posted by waybacmac
...Just for arguments sake, if Apple were to make a low end phone (and I sincerely doubt it) I couldn't see it being priced at anything less than $250; its sales would be pretty much limited to China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Indian sub-continent; and Apple might use some less expensive material but not plastic.
IF, IF, IF...this comes to pass, I think I nailed it last week.
Thread - Apple likely to debut $199 iPhone as low-cost smartphone market hits $135B in 2013 (February 20, 2013)
But I thought the cheaper plastic iPhone wasn't coming until 2014. Isn't that what we were told yesterday?
Quote:
Originally Posted by macxpress
Ahhh....another day, another cheap iPhone rumor. Eventually someone will be right because we have just about every month between now and the end of 2014.
Why bother reading or commenting then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by macxpress
Ahhh....another day, another cheap iPhone rumor. Eventually someone will be right because we have just about every month between now and the end of 2014.
Is it the iPhone or the rumor that's cheap?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ankleskater
Why bother reading or commenting then?
There are rules??!!
WTF! How come I didn't get the memo?!
If the price is going to be $330 why bother?
They could easily sell the iPhone 4 for that price this year, and I'm sure the 4 will look far classier than some cheap plastic phone.
iPhone 4: $299
iPhone 4S: $399
iPhone 5: $549
iPhone 5S: $649
There are plenty of people that will still buy the iPhone 4, especially in parts of the world where the iPhone isn't popular because of price. The 4 is still far better than most low end smartphone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
There are rules??!!
WTF! How come I didn't get the memo?!
I guess so...I'll have to check the AppleInsider Monthly Bulletin which came out yesterday.
Some analyst posted some nonsense about the smartphone market being saturated implying that there's no more money to be made. I guess GM, BMW, Toyota, Honda, etc all need to get out of the auto business because it's saturated, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Meanwhile, AAPL is down another 2% today.
Some analyst posted some nonsense about the smartphone market being saturated implying that there's no more money to be made. I guess GM, BMW, Toyota, Honda, etc all need to get out of the auto business because it's saturated, too.
Well, it's a good thing the rumor didn't say "a completely redesigned iPhone 6" or the stock would be down 4%.
Absolutely correct, except it might be in September.
Apple will ship the iPhone 5S.
And the 'more affordable' iPhone 5.
Tah-Dah!
I wonder when Apple will release an iPhone that looks as different and fresh as the iPhone 4 did compared to the iPhone 3GS.
The iPhone updates seem to have moved from being exciting to a more MacBook like style of steady by the numbers internal updates.
Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone and have owned every model released up to the 4S. I just miss the excitement that I used to feel leading up to each iPhone keynote & release.
I still feel that there was some real connection between some individuals who trade Apple and who took advantage of the situation to make themselves some easy money. Apple's refusal to pre announce their products makes them a good target for this kind of manipulation. It would really be nice if the SEC had enough teeth to stop that kind of thing. I would imagine that all it would take is one text to the right people and big money could be made. Especially if the information was in essence correct. The most artful way to lie is to tell the truth in such a way as to not be believed by the opposition. This is a good example of that kind of work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbook
If the price is going to be $330 why bother?
They could easily sell the iPhone 4 for that price this year, and I'm sure the 4 will look far classier than some cheap plastic phone.
iPhone 4: $299
iPhone 4S: $399
iPhone 5: $549
iPhone 5S: $649
There are plenty of people that will still buy the iPhone 4, especially in parts of the world where the iPhone isn't popular because of price. The 4 is still far better than most low end smartphone.
Three letters: L.T.E.
Meh. I will hold out for the iPhone Math.
That's been my take on it but I think it's possible that China Mobile could get an exclusivity on it at first as I think a huge reason for this device being built is to satisfy the world's largest carrier.