This might be my next phone, I just hope Apple haven't compromised on spec to bring the price down further. The repositioning of the accelerometer chip worries me a bit. Maybe in fact they've just moved it or integrated it onto the SoC, I just hope its still there and they haven't removed that function amongst other features, to keep the price down.
With the iPad mini Apple was able to charge more because it still looked like a premium device and had amazing build quality. People saw it and wished the full size iPad had the same design. If these 5C leaks are accurate that device doesn't seem have the same premium feel as the flagship. I'm sure the build quality will be excellent, but aesthetically it will look cheaper. So I'm not sure Apple can get away with too much of a premium just because its got an apple logo on the back.
Even so, most of the iPhone's high end competition is made of plastic.
That being said, yes the 5C looks markedly cheaper than the 5 or 5S, but at the same time it looks to be as nice or nicer than the competition so I can still see people paying a bit of a premium for it over an S2 or S3.
As I've said numerous times I think an 8GB model for $350 would be a sweet spot with a 16GB and 32 GB model being $450 and $550 respectably or $0 and $99 on contract. Those aren't necessarily cheap prices, but I think those are competitive for what's offered and much better deals than the 4/4S are now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flaneur
But when you're talking about aesthetics, there is more than just one spectrum or continuum, cheap on one end, "premium" on the other.
Plastic is going to be higher on the coldness vs. wamth continuum, on the fragility vs. dropability, on the grey vs. colorful, the stolid vs. lovable, and so on.
Prepare to be charmed when you actually hold it in your hand. And sold on it when you realize that it won't need a case.
The 5C will appeal to a certain market. Parents that want their children to have a safe and durable first smartphone will especially appreciate the 5C. As you said some people prefer the feel of plastic, and they may also appreciate the colors offered.
One of the goals for the 5C is to be compatible with China Mobile TDE-LTE network so I would assume it would be compatible with other global LTE networks as well.
The 5C will be a huge upgrade from the 4 on the low end for Apple.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Everett Ruess
iOS is what's inside though & IMO worth a bit of a premium
Especially iOS 7. I think 7 will really appeal to consumers more than iOS or Android.
Only thing I'm semi-hoping for now is that the 5C is made from a Bio-Plastic Environmentally friendly material. That would give Apple a cool interesting marketing angle for the device no one is expecting. Combine a trendy "eco" image with fashionable colors and you'll have a winner not only in China but also in US hipster communities as well!
The US "hipster community" LoLz... ....+5 for that coinage alone...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
Finally, given that the current all-metal, precision machined shell is easily one of the most difficult, expensive, and time consuming shells to produce, and that pretty much all the other options involve some sort of plastic … what the hell else could they make it out of? ?
I think for a mass-produced, cheaper phone, it was always going to be plastic. Nothing else makes much sense IMO.
I don't know the costs involved (likely for a premium model?) or what's happened since Apple secured some rights quite awhile ago, but interesting to me that the vaunted "liquid metal" is barely ever even mentioned in articles or by posters anymore.
The tech's not ripe yet or not happening after all?? "It's a watch thing"? Or....??
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I think it would be a miracle if Apple could actually produce an inexpensive product. It would certainly be a first for them.
The $49 iPod Shuffle broke your bank, huh..... ....hyperbole much??
Quote:
Originally Posted by sog35
Those Nokia phones running WindowsOS are a joke.
Actually they've gotten to be quite to more than acceptable alternatives - at least to Android phones - over the course of 2013 - several models in several ways. The 1020's camera has caught my eye for sure, and the 520/521's value proposition has led it to be a leading seller in a number of countries, and not all tiny, obscure ones. Also nothing like the fragmentation in the Android space.
With the higher res of WP 8.1 and a few other tweaks it it, they might even be as competitive in the US as they are already in a number of countries. (It is a joke, though, that 8.1 will arrive in the static to shrinking PC sector market months before hitting the mobile phone growth sector and missing this year's holiday season altogether.)
And, of course, MS's taking the Nokia devices arm in-house gives them every opportunity to royally screw up what's been accomplished to date.... ...so don't quote me on the above if that's the downward-facing dog trajectory in 2014.
This might be my next phone, I just hope Apple haven't compromised on spec to bring the price down further. The repositioning of the accelerometer chip worries me a bit. Maybe in fact they've just moved it or integrated it onto the SoC, I just hope its still there and they haven't removed that function amongst other features, to keep the price down.
The accelerometer is an essential chip for most apps and games at the app store now. No way that gets shafted in the 5C.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sog35
Friken ridiculous expecting Apple to sell the 5C for $300. What other phone can you get for $300. In the US $300 does not even get you a THREE YEAR old Samsung S2, that is slimey plastic and runs on a FOUR YEAR OLD OS. Yet you expect Apple to sell the 5C for $300? While Samsung sells plastic phones with a more laggy OS for $700? Ridiculous.
Again name me one phone on the market that has the prestige, OS quality, and performance of the 5C for $300. There is none. There is none for $400. Hell I can argue there is none even at $500. Those Nokia phones running WindowsOS are a joke. Every other phone at $500 will be running an ancient Android OS in 6 months.
With Apple you are getting the best mobile OS in the world. An amazing CPU and prestige and unmatched customer service. What happens when your LG phone dies? Good luck with that. Its like asking Ferrari to offer a $50k car because Lexus does.
There are actually quite a few capable phones available for $300.
Yes they are not as smooth as iOS, but for the price they are good enough for most people.
$300-500 is the so called midrange for smartphones and this is the market Apple is entering with the 5C. Many of us just hope Apple aims for the sweet spot in that market and not the very high end of the midrange market. Looking at the 5C I think they plan on pricing it lower than many of us think, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way.
Just look at the leaked packaging. It's the same packaging that Apple uses for $300 iPods, which should probably give us a hint on what price Apple is aiming for with the 5C. I'm hoping not $450, but I could be wrong.
… The $49 iPod Shuffle broke your bank, huh..... ....hyperbole much?? ...
Well, obviously I meant "inexpensive" relative to what the product is, or to other competing products in the market. By that metric, the shuffle is indeed expensive.
Apple has a long history of maintaining an absolutely huge margin on their products and I'm not arguing it hasn't served them well. But for the same reason, they have rarely if ever made an "inexpensive" product, because everyone else is always going to be selling at a smaller margin. I think that to meet the correct target price for the iPhone 5c they will have to eat some margin on it, and it remains to be seen whether they have the courage to do so. It would certainly break with previous practice, and that's what I was arguing, n'est pas?
Friken ridiculous expecting Apple to sell the 5C for $300. What other phone can you get for $300. In the US $300 does not even get you a THREE YEAR old Samsung S2 ...
Read what I said. In Canada, a brand new Android phone is basically $300, off contract. This is the common price. Some are more expensive, but they don't even come close to the price of an iPhone. Most folks buying a new phone start with an Android model at about $300.
I thought it was the same in the USA, if it's not apologies but I wasn't arguing that it was.
I also said that I thought it more likely that it would be $450.
Read what I said. In Canada, a brand new Android phone is basically $300, off contract. This is the common price. Some are more expensive, but they don't even come close to the price of an iPhone. Most folks buying a new phone start with an Android model at about $300.
I thought it was the same in the USA, if it's not apologies but I wasn't arguing that it was.
I also said that I thought it more likely that it would be $450.
That may be right for the AVERAGE Android phone, but that's like saying that the AVERAGE car is $20 K. It may be factually correct, but it's meaningless.
Apple isn't competing with the average Android phone. There are Android phones that are little more than feature phones. In fact, the last time I checked, there were even some Android phones that were sold as feature phones rather than as smart phones. Apple is competing with other high end smartphones. So it's far more relevant to compare it to the high end phones like the Galaxy S3 and so on. Even the 5C (assuming that it's real at all and that the rumors are close to the truth) isn't meant to be an average phone or an economy phone. It's a less expensive premium phone - still better than average, but not as good as the top of the line version.
Given the Walmart photos and rumors, I am guessing that your $450 price is about right.
"Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 5C alongside a next-generation iPhone 5S at a special media event on Tuesday."
Ah, nope...the 5C will not be announced Tuesday, but Wednesday at apple's special event in China. This will be a phone with carrier hardware and antenna that only works in china and certain other countries. Don't you know, there are 3 iPhone 5 models, depending on country/carrier, none of which works in China? http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
"Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 5C alongside a next-generation iPhone 5S at a special media event on Tuesday."
Ah, nope...the 5C will not be announced Tuesday, but Wednesday at apple's special event in China. This will be a phone with carrier hardware and antenna that only works in china and certain other countries. Don't you know, there are 3 iPhone 5 models, depending on country/carrier, none of which works in China? http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
This doesn't make sense. You really think that the 5C will only be available in a few asian countries? Is it because you don't like the design and can't believe Apple would release it in North-America?
The 30-pin dock connector is dead, and the 4/4S casing is a hassle to make, Apple will be more than happy to retire them and replace them with the 5C worldwide as the low-end iPhone model.
Well, obviously I meant "inexpensive" relative to what the product is, or to other competing products in the market. By that metric, the shuffle is indeed expensive.
Apple has a long history of maintaining an absolutely huge margin on their products and I'm not arguing it hasn't served them well. But for the same reason, they have rarely if ever made an "inexpensive" product, because everyone else is always going to be selling at a smaller margin. I think that to meet the correct target price for the iPhone 5c they will have to eat some margin on it, and it remains to be seen whether they have the courage to do so. It would certainly break with previous practice, and that's what I was arguing, n'est pas?
Just tweaking you a little, dude (given a small opening)... ...and mais oui, you are correct.
Nor do I know if the new team will always hold margin sacrosanct in the way the Jobs-led group did or start pursuing different metrics of success in moving the company forward in the ever-evolving landscape. E.g., in the last four or so years the smart phone market has begun to reach "commodity" status with many "good enough for most" choices out there, and more every day. This is beginning to happen in the tablet market even faster. And in both much faster than happened in the PC market.
So maybe different approaches to different segments makes sense, or maybe it would cheapen the world's arguably most esteemed (and simultaneously hated on) brand. Above my pay grade in any case. And as analyst/strategist/nerd I'm just sitting around stewing in (probably mostly irrational) screen size envy, wistfully wishing for my "iPhoneblet."
However, there is this lingering impression in the world at large (well the media world anyway) that all Apple products are "overpriced" for value delivered - which (along with being a subjective concept in the first place) - may be, or more accurately likely has been true in a limited subset of cases over the decades, but the general impression is usually based on comparing a few superficial check-list specs. E.g., any notebook can have a large trackpad, but I've yet to use a Windows notebook where the trackpad wasn't shite. Plus raw RAM, number of ports, nominal res, etc., etc. - all of which are only seldom "apples to apples" comparisons.
And this is despite numerous and exhaustive head to head comparisons showing that when build quality, components from stem to stern, performance, TCO, support, etc. are properly factored in, that they're actually very competitive - even without quantifying the intangibles of OS quality, included goodies, etc.
Plus the fact that to be a leader (if not THE leader in its main markets) in the areas of innovation and product category disruption, a company needs higher gross margins to keep those rare corporate characteristics intact over time by having the luxury to keep various "skunk works" perking along in its basements - while relying on that hard-won reputation and customer loyalty to be accorded the time to sweat the details before releasing product willy-nilly, i.e., Samsung style.
So on the more serious side, I try not to give the "spec heads" any extra trolling points.....
Isn't that thing about BOMs nothing more than bullshit?
I mean, Apple developed the CPU (a6). Is that cost in there? How? What about the cost of R&D to determine how to place those components, design the motherboard, develop some of those components, etc?
More importantly, what about the cost of the OS?
My point is, those numbers should never be used to any sort of sirious discussion on any circunstance. They are totally irrelevant and mean nothing.
The iPhone is much more expensive to build than any other smartphone, like the s4, for example. Start with the build quality, then the expertise and talent (how much is that?)of Apple's engineers, the marvel that is the a6 (unlike the joke that is the exynos or off the shelf components like the s600)... I mean, Apple worked for years to be able to produce this phone. Samsung? Nothing. 0.
They do not have their OS. Their best processor is designed by qualcomm, the build quality is a joke, the screen is crap, 0 battery optimization, they never dreamed of a smartphone, not to mention set the fundations for it, ecosystem, etc. A phone like that should cost less than half of the iPhone, no matter how you look at it.
"Apple is widely expected to" is one of those weasel verbs that obfuscates the quality of a rumor. It's another way of saying that the rumor has echoed back and forth on the web until it seems to be "widely"coming from all directions.
Comments
Apple is doing to the iPhone what they did to the iPod: diversify the lineup and create a family of devices.
The 5C is the "nano" iPhone.
It's a natural progression of the product line.
Another blatant troll. Just ignore and move on.
Stop violating Apple NDAs. Tim Cook is running out of kittens to murder. /s
French fries to steal.
With the iPad mini Apple was able to charge more because it still looked like a premium device and had amazing build quality. People saw it and wished the full size iPad had the same design. If these 5C leaks are accurate that device doesn't seem have the same premium feel as the flagship. I'm sure the build quality will be excellent, but aesthetically it will look cheaper. So I'm not sure Apple can get away with too much of a premium just because its got an apple logo on the back.
Even so, most of the iPhone's high end competition is made of plastic.
That being said, yes the 5C looks markedly cheaper than the 5 or 5S, but at the same time it looks to be as nice or nicer than the competition so I can still see people paying a bit of a premium for it over an S2 or S3.
As I've said numerous times I think an 8GB model for $350 would be a sweet spot with a 16GB and 32 GB model being $450 and $550 respectably or $0 and $99 on contract. Those aren't necessarily cheap prices, but I think those are competitive for what's offered and much better deals than the 4/4S are now.
But when you're talking about aesthetics, there is more than just one spectrum or continuum, cheap on one end, "premium" on the other.
Plastic is going to be higher on the coldness vs. wamth continuum, on the fragility vs. dropability, on the grey vs. colorful, the stolid vs. lovable, and so on.
Prepare to be charmed when you actually hold it in your hand. And sold on it when you realize that it won't need a case.
The 5C will appeal to a certain market. Parents that want their children to have a safe and durable first smartphone will especially appreciate the 5C. As you said some people prefer the feel of plastic, and they may also appreciate the colors offered.
But will 5c be 4g LTE capable?
I would say 100% yes.
One of the goals for the 5C is to be compatible with China Mobile TDE-LTE network so I would assume it would be compatible with other global LTE networks as well.
The 5C will be a huge upgrade from the 4 on the low end for Apple.
iOS is what's inside though & IMO worth a bit of a premium
Especially iOS 7. I think 7 will really appeal to consumers more than iOS or Android.
The US "hipster community" LoLz...
....+5 for that coinage alone...
Finally, given that the current all-metal, precision machined shell is easily one of the most difficult, expensive, and time consuming shells to produce, and that pretty much all the other options involve some sort of plastic … what the hell else could they make it out of? ?
I think for a mass-produced, cheaper phone, it was always going to be plastic. Nothing else makes much sense IMO.
I don't know the costs involved (likely for a premium model?) or what's happened since Apple secured some rights quite awhile ago, but interesting to me that the vaunted "liquid metal" is barely ever even mentioned in articles or by posters anymore.
The tech's not ripe yet or not happening after all?? "It's a watch thing"? Or....??
I think it would be a miracle if Apple could actually produce an inexpensive product. It would certainly be a first for them.
The $49 iPod Shuffle broke your bank, huh..... ....hyperbole much??
Quote:
Originally Posted by sog35
Those Nokia phones running WindowsOS are a joke.
Actually they've gotten to be quite to more than acceptable alternatives - at least to Android phones - over the course of 2013 - several models in several ways. The 1020's camera has caught my eye for sure, and the 520/521's value proposition has led it to be a leading seller in a number of countries, and not all tiny, obscure ones. Also nothing like the fragmentation in the Android space.
With the higher res of WP 8.1 and a few other tweaks it it, they might even be as competitive in the US as they are already in a number of countries. (It is a joke, though, that 8.1 will arrive in the static to shrinking PC sector market months before hitting the mobile phone growth sector and missing this year's holiday season altogether.)
And, of course, MS's taking the Nokia devices arm in-house gives them every opportunity to royally screw up what's been accomplished to date.... ...so don't quote me on the above if that's the downward-facing dog trajectory in 2014.
This might be my next phone, I just hope Apple haven't compromised on spec to bring the price down further. The repositioning of the accelerometer chip worries me a bit. Maybe in fact they've just moved it or integrated it onto the SoC, I just hope its still there and they haven't removed that function amongst other features, to keep the price down.
The accelerometer is an essential chip for most apps and games at the app store now. No way that gets shafted in the 5C.
Friken ridiculous expecting Apple to sell the 5C for $300. What other phone can you get for $300. In the US $300 does not even get you a THREE YEAR old Samsung S2, that is slimey plastic and runs on a FOUR YEAR OLD OS. Yet you expect Apple to sell the 5C for $300? While Samsung sells plastic phones with a more laggy OS for $700? Ridiculous.
Again name me one phone on the market that has the prestige, OS quality, and performance of the 5C for $300. There is none. There is none for $400. Hell I can argue there is none even at $500. Those Nokia phones running WindowsOS are a joke. Every other phone at $500 will be running an ancient Android OS in 6 months.
With Apple you are getting the best mobile OS in the world. An amazing CPU and prestige and unmatched customer service. What happens when your LG phone dies? Good luck with that. Its like asking Ferrari to offer a $50k car because Lexus does.
There are actually quite a few capable phones available for $300.
Yes they are not as smooth as iOS, but for the price they are good enough for most people.
$300-500 is the so called midrange for smartphones and this is the market Apple is entering with the 5C. Many of us just hope Apple aims for the sweet spot in that market and not the very high end of the midrange market. Looking at the 5C I think they plan on pricing it lower than many of us think, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way.
Just look at the leaked packaging. It's the same packaging that Apple uses for $300 iPods, which should probably give us a hint on what price Apple is aiming for with the 5C. I'm hoping not $450, but I could be wrong.
… The $49 iPod Shuffle broke your bank, huh..... ....hyperbole much?? ...
Well, obviously I meant "inexpensive" relative to what the product is, or to other competing products in the market. By that metric, the shuffle is indeed expensive.
Apple has a long history of maintaining an absolutely huge margin on their products and I'm not arguing it hasn't served them well. But for the same reason, they have rarely if ever made an "inexpensive" product, because everyone else is always going to be selling at a smaller margin. I think that to meet the correct target price for the iPhone 5c they will have to eat some margin on it, and it remains to be seen whether they have the courage to do so. It would certainly break with previous practice, and that's what I was arguing, n'est pas?
Friken ridiculous expecting Apple to sell the 5C for $300. What other phone can you get for $300. In the US $300 does not even get you a THREE YEAR old Samsung S2 ...
Read what I said. In Canada, a brand new Android phone is basically $300, off contract. This is the common price. Some are more expensive, but they don't even come close to the price of an iPhone. Most folks buying a new phone start with an Android model at about $300.
I thought it was the same in the USA, if it's not apologies but I wasn't arguing that it was.
I also said that I thought it more likely that it would be $450.
That may be right for the AVERAGE Android phone, but that's like saying that the AVERAGE car is $20 K. It may be factually correct, but it's meaningless.
Apple isn't competing with the average Android phone. There are Android phones that are little more than feature phones. In fact, the last time I checked, there were even some Android phones that were sold as feature phones rather than as smart phones. Apple is competing with other high end smartphones. So it's far more relevant to compare it to the high end phones like the Galaxy S3 and so on. Even the 5C (assuming that it's real at all and that the rumors are close to the truth) isn't meant to be an average phone or an economy phone. It's a less expensive premium phone - still better than average, but not as good as the top of the line version.
Given the Walmart photos and rumors, I am guessing that your $450 price is about right.
Ah, nope...the 5C will not be announced Tuesday, but Wednesday at apple's special event in China. This will be a phone with carrier hardware and antenna that only works in china and certain other countries. Don't you know, there are 3 iPhone 5 models, depending on country/carrier, none of which works in China? http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
"Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 5C alongside a next-generation iPhone 5S at a special media event on Tuesday."
Ah, nope...the 5C will not be announced Tuesday, but Wednesday at apple's special event in China. This will be a phone with carrier hardware and antenna that only works in china and certain other countries. Don't you know, there are 3 iPhone 5 models, depending on country/carrier, none of which works in China? http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/
This doesn't make sense. You really think that the 5C will only be available in a few asian countries? Is it because you don't like the design and can't believe Apple would release it in North-America?
The 30-pin dock connector is dead, and the 4/4S casing is a hassle to make, Apple will be more than happy to retire them and replace them with the 5C worldwide as the low-end iPhone model.
Well, obviously I meant "inexpensive" relative to what the product is, or to other competing products in the market. By that metric, the shuffle is indeed expensive.
Apple has a long history of maintaining an absolutely huge margin on their products and I'm not arguing it hasn't served them well. But for the same reason, they have rarely if ever made an "inexpensive" product, because everyone else is always going to be selling at a smaller margin. I think that to meet the correct target price for the iPhone 5c they will have to eat some margin on it, and it remains to be seen whether they have the courage to do so. It would certainly break with previous practice, and that's what I was arguing, n'est pas?
Just tweaking you a little, dude (given a small opening)... ...and mais oui, you are correct.
Nor do I know if the new team will always hold margin sacrosanct in the way the Jobs-led group did or start pursuing different metrics of success in moving the company forward in the ever-evolving landscape. E.g., in the last four or so years the smart phone market has begun to reach "commodity" status with many "good enough for most" choices out there, and more every day. This is beginning to happen in the tablet market even faster. And in both much faster than happened in the PC market.
So maybe different approaches to different segments makes sense, or maybe it would cheapen the world's arguably most esteemed (and simultaneously hated on) brand. Above my pay grade in any case. And as analyst/strategist/nerd I'm just sitting around stewing in (probably mostly irrational) screen size envy, wistfully wishing for my "iPhoneblet."
However, there is this lingering impression in the world at large (well the media world anyway) that all Apple products are "overpriced" for value delivered - which (along with being a subjective concept in the first place) - may be, or more accurately likely has been true in a limited subset of cases over the decades, but the general impression is usually based on comparing a few superficial check-list specs. E.g., any notebook can have a large trackpad, but I've yet to use a Windows notebook where the trackpad wasn't shite. Plus raw RAM, number of ports, nominal res, etc., etc. - all of which are only seldom "apples to apples" comparisons.
And this is despite numerous and exhaustive head to head comparisons showing that when build quality, components from stem to stern, performance, TCO, support, etc. are properly factored in, that they're actually very competitive - even without quantifying the intangibles of OS quality, included goodies, etc.
Plus the fact that to be a leader (if not THE leader in its main markets) in the areas of innovation and product category disruption, a company needs higher gross margins to keep those rare corporate characteristics intact over time by having the luxury to keep various "skunk works" perking along in its basements - while relying on that hard-won reputation and customer loyalty to be accorded the time to sweat the details before releasing product willy-nilly, i.e., Samsung style.
So on the more serious side, I try not to give the "spec heads" any extra trolling points.....
1. Apple taking a lower share?
2. Cheaper components?
If this is at all close to correct:
[URL]http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/iPhone5-Carries-$199-BOM-Virtual-Teardown-Reveals.aspx[/URL] it seems sorta clear that the most expensive parts could be made cheaper, I guess.
I also believe that Apple is trying to associate plastic with "not-premium", "inferior" device so it kills the samsung brainwashing star.
Biggest q: What is it that is making the C cheaper?
1. Apple taking a lower share?
2. Cheaper components?
If this is at all close to correct:
http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/iPhone5-Carries-$199-BOM-Virtual-Teardown-Reveals.aspx it seems sorta clear that the most expensive parts could be made cheaper, I guess.
Isn't that thing about BOMs nothing more than bullshit?
I mean, Apple developed the CPU (a6). Is that cost in there? How? What about the cost of R&D to determine how to place those components, design the motherboard, develop some of those components, etc?
More importantly, what about the cost of the OS?
My point is, those numbers should never be used to any sort of sirious discussion on any circunstance. They are totally irrelevant and mean nothing.
The iPhone is much more expensive to build than any other smartphone, like the s4, for example. Start with the build quality, then the expertise and talent (how much is that?)of Apple's engineers, the marvel that is the a6 (unlike the joke that is the exynos or off the shelf components like the s600)... I mean, Apple worked for years to be able to produce this phone. Samsung? Nothing. 0.
They do not have their OS. Their best processor is designed by qualcomm, the build quality is a joke, the screen is crap, 0 battery optimization, they never dreamed of a smartphone, not to mention set the fundations for it, ecosystem, etc. A phone like that should cost less than half of the iPhone, no matter how you look at it.
"Apple is widely expected to" is one of those weasel verbs that obfuscates the quality of a rumor. It's another way of saying that the rumor has echoed back and forth on the web until it seems to be "widely"coming from all directions.