So are you suggesting they keep it intact with the expensive return prone aluminum case and sell it at a discount now that the iPhone 4 4s is discontinued? What other options are there? The iPhone 4s has run it's course as the discount model.
Return prone?
The 5 will be 100 with a contract. The 4S will be free with contract. the all new colorful iPhone 4 will be 300-400, off contract.
The "cheap" new iPhone isn't going to be cheap. It exists to move the entire lineup to 4" screen and lightning connector and will put the iPhone 4 and 4S out to pasture.
I predict the new lineup will be iPhone 5S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5L at exactly the same price points the 5, 4S and 4 sell for today. If there are multiple colours it will create an illusion of choice for customers who'll no longer be able to choose the iPhone 4 styling or different screen size.
Apple has for months required all apps to support 640x1136 and is pushing very hard for developers to exclusively target iOS 7. They're waving the fact that 93% of App Store customers are on iOS 6 now as proof developers can ignore iOS 6 in any new or updated apps.
I believe Apple is trying to banish 320x480 and 640x960 to the history books so everyone can focus on a single screen size like they did in the early iPhone days. If you're developing for Android you have to contend with a matrix of screen sizes and pixel densities. Although Apple offers rudimentary auto-layout capabilities they would rather see designers target a fixed screen size with a pixel perfect UI. Having just one screen resolution on all iPhones makes it more likely that developers will take the time to create just such a UI.
Banishing the 3.5" screen also makes it more likely that we'll see an iPhone in 2014 with a new screen resolution. I still don't think Apple wants to make two different sizes of iPhone, but as long as 3.5" hangs around we'll never see anything new.
The Apple logo is a flat black and there is no FCC or "designed by Apple" text. This just looks like cheap parts somebody manufactured themselves. So far I am not buying into the rumored iPhone Lite even exists. I suspect there will just be an iPhone 5S and nothing more.
"The colorful new iPhone 5", yeah I can see it. It has a nice ring to it too. And it doesn't come off as a downgrade, but as an added feature.
I dont want to enter the name fetish war, but imo they are not going to call this the iphone 5, even if they discontinu the 5 and replace it with this.
How are they going to shave $150 off the price of the iPhone 5 assuming it would have been sold for $549 this year.
I don't think a plastic case alone will be enough to justify the discount.
Well, the combination of the cheaper plastic case and the re-used of the same assembly line is lowering the cost quite a bit. That being said, they will probably change other internals too, like cameras maybe or cheaper memory.
Not AMOLED or OLED at least. Apple's current screens are all battery friendly to the new oh-so-much white iOS 7 but would be a huge drain on the screen tech in the Galaxy (and other Android) lines. One Mac columnist claims that's one of the reasons Apple chose the new design direction: i.e., the makers of all those "higher than Retina" screens won't be able to duplicate the look and feel with anything close to the same battery life....
indeed. They could used super LCD or IGZO. IGZO is by far the best tech, if they ever used it. I am being convinced the new iOS 7 look may be a way to avoid getting duplicated by android, since a lot of android phones are on oled and amoled.
If Apple has decided to release a version of the iPhone for more budget minded people, then it would be pretty dumb to expect the same quality materials found in the regular iPhone to be present in the budget iPhone. And there will no doubt be other compromises made, but if anybody has any complaints at all about this budget iPhone, then you can simply pay more and buy the regular iPhone and quit your whining.
Apple won't make anything other then a high quality iPhone. That would undermine their brand. What I expect is they will add something to their current iPhone 5 that is unique and highly desirable and let the iPhone lite satisfy most or all of the iPhone 5 specs. My first guess would be that the iPhone 5s will have fingerprint recognition so they would be a total brick if stolen. Also, the 5s could have more RAM than currently and a faster CPU, leaving the Lite iPhone using the current CPU chip and topping out at less memory.
In summery, the cheep iPhone will be as good as the current iPhone 5 and in the plastic case, and the 5s looking like the old iPhone 5 but having the new and improved CPU chip and some other added security goodies. This could be the inception of a consumer product and an enterprise product fork...
I am very confident all the 3.5" screen phones will be discontinued. We will see.
The 3.5" also has the old pre-lightning connector. Consider the size and connector "history."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingela
"The colorful new iPhone 5", yeah I can see it. It has a nice ring to it too. And it doesn't come off as a downgrade, but as an added feature.
I see the slogan as "All the features of the iPhone 5 at a new low price." The new 5s will be the phone for the celebs, dignitaries, and the wannabe hanger-ons.
Watch for it to show up in selfies by Miley, Amanda Bynes, and other over-sexed over-the-hill brainless ex-celebs.
Actually I think it will be vastly important to call it the iPhone 5 because the blogasphere is already trying their lazy darndest to label it as "the cheap" iPhone. It needs to be reminded that it is merely the high quality iPhone 5 in a colorful case. It will jack that meme and stop it in it's tracks. It will be much harder for the sensationalism based "hit" dependent bloggers to attach the "cheap" label to the iPhone 5 regardless if it is encased in a plastic case. They'll try of course, but it would be lame and wouldn't have the impact.
Calling it the "iPhone lite" or any other such nonsense would marginalize the brand in my opinion.
What's interesting is how a few dollars' difference in case materials is seen by some people as the primary difference between "cheap" and "high end", even if the internals stayed the same.
If that were the only difference, then people will really start wondering why they should pay hundreds extra for some glass and aluminum that they usually buyanother protective case for, anyway.
Indeed. Very good point. But that perhaps is the common perception that Apple is counting on. In other words, if a difference of material is of material difference in perceived value, then they will minimize "cannibalization" of the flagship iPhone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
So it seems like that there would be more differences to lower the build price. Anyone have some guesses or suggestions as to what they might be?
Obviously, less memory and a slower CPU is one possibility. Would they also go backwards with the display, or is that not a possibility?
Thoughts?
They charge $229 for an iPod Touch with 4" RetDisp, no rear iSight camera, 16GB and A5, and add $70 for an iSight camera and a second 16 GB. We can guess how much extra Apple might charge for the LTE chipset (or perhaps 3G?).
On the other hand, if the intended markets are India and Africa, then RetDisp and LTE can definitely be dropped.
I really like the current iPod nano design, I would like it if it were maybe made 3 inch (also making back bigger) for enough room for wifi and cellular chips (apple could probably get a 3G chip in there). Also adding the cameras to both.
So we have iPhone 5s and iPhone nano
Contract Price $650, $250 keeping all current features (except iPhone nano and iPod nano get App Store).
The all white version of this iPhone would sell like a monster at $400-450
Same specs as the current 5th Gen iPod Touch is my prediction.
I agree except for the price point. $400-$450 is waaaay too much.
There's not much point in taking the superb iPhone 5, cheapening it up like a cheap whore, and then selling it for only slightly less. It has to be significantly cheaper to drive sales.
I mean how do you sell that? "It looks bargain basement and it has lesser capabilities but it's (slightly) cheaper?" Why would anyone buy that? Also, the whole point is to get more people to walk into an Apple store and pick one up off-contract. The price has to be something that someone would go for off-contract, not something that would be slightly cheaper on-contract.
I agree except for the price point. $400-$450 is waaaay too much.
There's not much point in taking the superb iPhone 5, cheapening it up like a cheap whore, and then selling it for only slightly less. It has to be significantly cheaper to drive sales.
I mean how do you sell that? "It looks bargain basement and it has lesser capabilities but it's (slightly) cheaper?" Why would anyone buy that? Also, the whole point is to get more people to walk into an Apple store and pick one up off-contract. The price has to be something that someone would go for off-contract, not something that would be slightly cheaper on-contract.
$299 or it isn't worth the trouble.
$200 if they can do it.
If Apple can get into that price bracket without sacrificing margins or quality, they could literally double or triple their global market share overnight.
We'll see what trade offs Apple makes for the low cost phone. I'm hoping for something more polished than what we have seen.
What if they had an iPhone 1ish design with colored aluminum and a white or colored plastic window on the bottom for the wireless radios?
That might look more high end than these plastic so called leaks.
While the hues are a little too neon for my tastes I'll reserve judgment until I see them in person. Overall the product does look great and will appeal to a different market than the flagship models.
These would basically replace the iphone 4S in September's lineup. Since these are "new" models it will be easier to market them than the iPhone 4S, which is 2 years old in September. They will be thinner, lighter and have a 4" screen so are also a better phone than the 4S, despite the plastic enclosure. The plastic will mean broader manufacturing tolerances and less scuff damage. I'd expect to see many of them used without a protective case.
There will be one capacity (16 GB) to simplify inventory management and minimise canabalisation of the iPhone 5S. The latter will still have enough premium features to justify its cost. Aside from the dual color flash, improved camera, new generation CPU and extended battery life I think it will shift to 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities.
I am hoping this is the low end phone, the 5s will be the high end of the middle range, and that we will see a bigger screen phone at the high end.
Why would Apple provide a bigger screen iPhone at this point ?
5-inch (or larger) screens provide a horrible single-handed experience for the majority of users.
Tasks which require a large surface area are already better serviced by an iPad.
Apple is making an effort to standardise every other device in this form factor to 4-inches.
Android phablet users don't really benefit from the increased display area because app developers have to code for the lowest common denominator on that platform. Facebook et al can afford to optimise, but most can't. Just travel on public transport and see people with small hands lugging around ridiculously sized phones just to play freemium games where the playing area takes up less than a third of the screen, surrounded by a static border.
Comments
Return prone?
The 5 will be 100 with a contract. The 4S will be free with contract. the all new colorful iPhone 4 will be 300-400, off contract.
I predict the new lineup will be iPhone 5S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5L at exactly the same price points the 5, 4S and 4 sell for today. If there are multiple colours it will create an illusion of choice for customers who'll no longer be able to choose the iPhone 4 styling or different screen size.
Apple has for months required all apps to support 640x1136 and is pushing very hard for developers to exclusively target iOS 7. They're waving the fact that 93% of App Store customers are on iOS 6 now as proof developers can ignore iOS 6 in any new or updated apps.
I believe Apple is trying to banish 320x480 and 640x960 to the history books so everyone can focus on a single screen size like they did in the early iPhone days. If you're developing for Android you have to contend with a matrix of screen sizes and pixel densities. Although Apple offers rudimentary auto-layout capabilities they would rather see designers target a fixed screen size with a pixel perfect UI. Having just one screen resolution on all iPhones makes it more likely that developers will take the time to create just such a UI.
Banishing the 3.5" screen also makes it more likely that we'll see an iPhone in 2014 with a new screen resolution. I still don't think Apple wants to make two different sizes of iPhone, but as long as 3.5" hangs around we'll never see anything new.
Fake.
The Apple logo is a flat black and there is no FCC or "designed by Apple" text. This just looks like cheap parts somebody manufactured themselves. So far I am not buying into the rumored iPhone Lite even exists. I suspect there will just be an iPhone 5S and nothing more.
The all white version of this iPhone would sell like a monster at $400-450
Same specs as the current 5th Gen iPod Touch is my prediction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingela
"The colorful new iPhone 5", yeah I can see it. It has a nice ring to it too. And it doesn't come off as a downgrade, but as an added feature.
I dont want to enter the name fetish war, but imo they are not going to call this the iphone 5, even if they discontinu the 5 and replace it with this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackbook
How are they going to shave $150 off the price of the iPhone 5 assuming it would have been sold for $549 this year.
I don't think a plastic case alone will be enough to justify the discount.
Well, the combination of the cheaper plastic case and the re-used of the same assembly line is lowering the cost quite a bit. That being said, they will probably change other internals too, like cameras maybe or cheaper memory.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpics
Not AMOLED or OLED at least. Apple's current screens are all battery friendly to the new oh-so-much white iOS 7 but would be a huge drain on the screen tech in the Galaxy (and other Android) lines. One Mac columnist claims that's one of the reasons Apple chose the new design direction: i.e., the makers of all those "higher than Retina" screens won't be able to duplicate the look and feel with anything close to the same battery life....
indeed. They could used super LCD or IGZO. IGZO is by far the best tech, if they ever used it. I am being convinced the new iOS 7 look may be a way to avoid getting duplicated by android, since a lot of android phones are on oled and amoled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jungmark
Return prone?
The 5 will be 100 with a contract. The 4S will be free with contract. the all new colorful iPhone 4 will be 300-400, off contract.
I am very confident all the 3.5" screen phones will be discontinued. We will see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][
If Apple has decided to release a version of the iPhone for more budget minded people, then it would be pretty dumb to expect the same quality materials found in the regular iPhone to be present in the budget iPhone. And there will no doubt be other compromises made, but if anybody has any complaints at all about this budget iPhone, then you can simply pay more and buy the regular iPhone and quit your whining.
Apple won't make anything other then a high quality iPhone. That would undermine their brand. What I expect is they will add something to their current iPhone 5 that is unique and highly desirable and let the iPhone lite satisfy most or all of the iPhone 5 specs. My first guess would be that the iPhone 5s will have fingerprint recognition so they would be a total brick if stolen. Also, the 5s could have more RAM than currently and a faster CPU, leaving the Lite iPhone using the current CPU chip and topping out at less memory.
In summery, the cheep iPhone will be as good as the current iPhone 5 and in the plastic case, and the 5s looking like the old iPhone 5 but having the new and improved CPU chip and some other added security goodies. This could be the inception of a consumer product and an enterprise product fork...
Quote:
Originally Posted by herbapou
I am very confident all the 3.5" screen phones will be discontinued. We will see.
The 3.5" also has the old pre-lightning connector. Consider the size and connector "history."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ingela
"The colorful new iPhone 5", yeah I can see it. It has a nice ring to it too. And it doesn't come off as a downgrade, but as an added feature.
I see the slogan as "All the features of the iPhone 5 at a new low price." The new 5s will be the phone for the celebs, dignitaries, and the wannabe hanger-ons.
Watch for it to show up in selfies by Miley, Amanda Bynes, and other over-sexed over-the-hill brainless ex-celebs.
Actually I think it will be vastly important to call it the iPhone 5 because the blogasphere is already trying their lazy darndest to label it as "the cheap" iPhone. It needs to be reminded that it is merely the high quality iPhone 5 in a colorful case. It will jack that meme and stop it in it's tracks. It will be much harder for the sensationalism based "hit" dependent bloggers to attach the "cheap" label to the iPhone 5 regardless if it is encased in a plastic case. They'll try of course, but it would be lame and wouldn't have the impact.
Calling it the "iPhone lite" or any other such nonsense would marginalize the brand in my opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
What's interesting is how a few dollars' difference in case materials is seen by some people as the primary difference between "cheap" and "high end", even if the internals stayed the same.
If that were the only difference, then people will really start wondering why they should pay hundreds extra for some glass and aluminum that they usually buyanother protective case for, anyway.
Indeed. Very good point. But that perhaps is the common perception that Apple is counting on. In other words, if a difference of material is of material difference in perceived value, then they will minimize "cannibalization" of the flagship iPhone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
So it seems like that there would be more differences to lower the build price. Anyone have some guesses or suggestions as to what they might be?
Obviously, less memory and a slower CPU is one possibility. Would they also go backwards with the display, or is that not a possibility?
Thoughts?
They charge $229 for an iPod Touch with 4" RetDisp, no rear iSight camera, 16GB and A5, and add $70 for an iSight camera and a second 16 GB. We can guess how much extra Apple might charge for the LTE chipset (or perhaps 3G?).
On the other hand, if the intended markets are India and Africa, then RetDisp and LTE can definitely be dropped.
So we have iPhone 5s and iPhone nano
Contract Price $650, $250 keeping all current features (except iPhone nano and iPod nano get App Store).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][
I remember the Apple U2 iPod, that was black & red.
Exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeaEarleGreyHot
Does nobody else notice the letter "D" scrawled on the internal metal plate, visible on the blue and green models?
What could the "D" stand for?
Delete
Discontinued
Discard
Defective
Destroy
Dummy
Decoy
Distraction
?
I didn't see the "D" but if it was there, it stands for 'discard' of course.
Real parts are all counted and watched, one of the traditional ways to steal parts from a factory to gain internet fame would be to steal a discard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Technarchy
The all white version of this iPhone would sell like a monster at $400-450
Same specs as the current 5th Gen iPod Touch is my prediction.
I agree except for the price point. $400-$450 is waaaay too much.
There's not much point in taking the superb iPhone 5, cheapening it up like a cheap whore, and then selling it for only slightly less. It has to be significantly cheaper to drive sales.
I mean how do you sell that? "It looks bargain basement and it has lesser capabilities but it's (slightly) cheaper?" Why would anyone buy that? Also, the whole point is to get more people to walk into an Apple store and pick one up off-contract. The price has to be something that someone would go for off-contract, not something that would be slightly cheaper on-contract.
$299 or it isn't worth the trouble.
$200 if they can do it.
If Apple can get into that price bracket without sacrificing margins or quality, they could literally double or triple their global market share overnight.
We'll see what trade offs Apple makes for the low cost phone. I'm hoping for something more polished than what we have seen.
What if they had an iPhone 1ish design with colored aluminum and a white or colored plastic window on the bottom for the wireless radios?
That might look more high end than these plastic so called leaks.
While the hues are a little too neon for my tastes I'll reserve judgment until I see them in person. Overall the product does look great and will appeal to a different market than the flagship models.
These would basically replace the iphone 4S in September's lineup. Since these are "new" models it will be easier to market them than the iPhone 4S, which is 2 years old in September. They will be thinner, lighter and have a 4" screen so are also a better phone than the 4S, despite the plastic enclosure. The plastic will mean broader manufacturing tolerances and less scuff damage. I'd expect to see many of them used without a protective case.
There will be one capacity (16 GB) to simplify inventory management and minimise canabalisation of the iPhone 5S. The latter will still have enough premium features to justify its cost. Aside from the dual color flash, improved camera, new generation CPU and extended battery life I think it will shift to 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by herbapou
I am hoping this is the low end phone, the 5s will be the high end of the middle range, and that we will see a bigger screen phone at the high end.
Why would Apple provide a bigger screen iPhone at this point ?
5-inch (or larger) screens provide a horrible single-handed experience for the majority of users.
Tasks which require a large surface area are already better serviced by an iPad.
Apple is making an effort to standardise every other device in this form factor to 4-inches.
Android phablet users don't really benefit from the increased display area because app developers have to code for the lowest common denominator on that platform. Facebook et al can afford to optimise, but most can't. Just travel on public transport and see people with small hands lugging around ridiculously sized phones just to play freemium games where the playing area takes up less than a third of the screen, surrounded by a static border.