How does Apple make an iPhone Mini?
So the expectation is that Apple will fairly quickly release additional iPhone models at lower price points, more or less following the iPod pattern.
There seems to be some expectation/desire that that will involve an iPhone "Mini" that offer somewhat fewer features in a smaller package for less money.
But how can Apple do that with the iPhone?
The iPhone is the interface. Throwing out features basically means cutting out some software functionality, but there is no cost savings to Apple in doing that. I know some people had the idea that Apple could follow up with "just a phone" without all the bells and whistles, but the fact is that the bells and whistles are just software, and cost Apple nothing to include.
WiFi and BT are the sole candidates for a hardware reduction, but do those radios actually cost more than a few dollars each?
They can't cut storage, which has nowhere to go but up.
Even if they could make it smaller, is that really desirable for a device with multi-touch? And, again, is there much manufacturing cost savings in a slightly smaller screen?
It looks to me that, for the foreseeable further, "new" models of iPhone will just be more storage at the same price point while the older ones become the economy models. Maybe a few "premium" software features to maintain Apples usual somewhat artificial divisions between models.
Anyway, that's my take. Anyone have any ideas how Apple could shrink the size or cost or both on the iPhone without sacrificing "iPhoneness"?
My best guess is that the next cheaper iPhone will be exactly like the current iPhone without WiFi, and cost $100-$200 less. At the same time Apple will release the second gen iPhone with double the memory and possibly 3G, at the current price points.
There seems to be some expectation/desire that that will involve an iPhone "Mini" that offer somewhat fewer features in a smaller package for less money.
But how can Apple do that with the iPhone?
The iPhone is the interface. Throwing out features basically means cutting out some software functionality, but there is no cost savings to Apple in doing that. I know some people had the idea that Apple could follow up with "just a phone" without all the bells and whistles, but the fact is that the bells and whistles are just software, and cost Apple nothing to include.
WiFi and BT are the sole candidates for a hardware reduction, but do those radios actually cost more than a few dollars each?
They can't cut storage, which has nowhere to go but up.
Even if they could make it smaller, is that really desirable for a device with multi-touch? And, again, is there much manufacturing cost savings in a slightly smaller screen?
It looks to me that, for the foreseeable further, "new" models of iPhone will just be more storage at the same price point while the older ones become the economy models. Maybe a few "premium" software features to maintain Apples usual somewhat artificial divisions between models.
Anyway, that's my take. Anyone have any ideas how Apple could shrink the size or cost or both on the iPhone without sacrificing "iPhoneness"?
My best guess is that the next cheaper iPhone will be exactly like the current iPhone without WiFi, and cost $100-$200 less. At the same time Apple will release the second gen iPhone with double the memory and possibly 3G, at the current price points.
Comments
No keypad, just the same interface as an iPod shuffle. You can call people in your contact list, one at a time in alphabetical order, or have the iPhone shuffle pick people for you to call at random.
My guess is that it'll be a physically smaller phone without multimedia.
But doesn't that mean a much less desirable phone that Apple would be obliged to sell for quite a bit less, even though it wouldn't cost them much less to manufacture?
Remember, smaller means less room for multi-touch, which is a much greater hit on usability than, say, shrinking the click-wheel to make an iPod Mini or Nano.
And dropping the media features saves Apple no money whatsoever.
So, again, how does that work?
My guess would be a phone and iPod together. No internet or email capabilities.
Absolutely. The kids who will be in the market for an iPhone Nano will be after IM, MMS and SMS not full blown web or email.
We might see some kind of positioning system in the 'regular' iPhone before the iPhone Nano is introduced too.
If you are asking; what will the iPhone nano look like if Apple makes it? I think the iPhone nano will be a music playing Apple cellphone, it may have a camera, but it will primarily do text and calls. I don't expect it to do email, or surf the web, but I do expect it to have a touch screen. It may even play video that you have synced, but it wont have Smartphone-like internet features. Think 2 and a half inch display, rather than 3 and a half.
unless of course they were lying
I can't wait for the iPhone shuffle. Clip it on your lapel, on your hat, in your hair.
No keypad, just the same interface as an iPod shuffle. You can call people in your contact list, one at a time in alphabetical order, or have the iPhone shuffle pick people for you to call at random.
please no more iPhone shuffle jokes. This is at least the fourth one I've read. Almost as bad as the i[insert noun] ones.
My guess would be a phone and iPod together. No internet or email capabilities.
Absolutely. The kids who will be in the market for an iPhone Nano will be after IM, MMS and SMS not full blown web or email.
We might see some kind of positioning system in the 'regular' iPhone before the iPhone Nano is introduced too.
Precisely. I expect the size to be slightly smaller, perhaps about 3-2.5", but still touch screen. They will drop the internet and email functions, but keep the spiffy new iPod functions, while the iPhone may or may not obtain 3G (depending on price then), and have memory upgrades (next stop - 16GB). A camera will still be a part of the lower iPhone, which I think will be called the iPhone Mini (nano refers too much to the size, rather than capability, since it can't get too much smaller). AT&T will drink it up because this will push the SMS (and possibly MMS with the Mini) - bringing the possibility to charge extra for people who txt over their plans.
Pricing points:
iPhone (16 GB): $500-$600
iPhone Mini (4 GB): $375-400
6G iPod: $275-300
I say there will only be one iPhone line. Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, etc.
There is no future for devices that cut out functionality in the name of the game of marketing price points.
Sebastian
Agreed, although I think Apple may keep Gen 1 around at a lower price point at the introduction of Gen 2, and so on.
To some of the other posters, did you even read my original post? What's the point of leaving email, for instance, out of "cheaper" iPhone? It doesn't cost Apple anything to include.
All you're doing is lowering perceived value, without lowering your manufacturing costs. That's just not a smart business plan. Ditto ditching the iPod functionality. Ditto with widgets, calendars, Safari, and SMS.
In fact, Apple could make a version of the iPhone with absolutely no functionality but a phone and it would cost them exactly as much to make, sans the WiFi chip and camera lens--a savings of probably all of ten dollars, if that. But how much could they charge for it?
Get it? They just can't do that. There's no way to make the economics work.
Smaller screen helps on cost somewhat, but as soon as you start to shrink the screen you start to crimp the multi-touch experience. Shrink it too much and it's not really an "iPhone" anymore. How does the virtual keyboard work when it's much smaller than it is now? I'll tell you: not at all. All that superb gestural stuff that Apple managed to put on the iPhone UI? Not so superb any more. Cramped. Error ridden.
Apple picked the screen size of the iPhone for a reason: it's their best shot at hitting the perfect medium between portability and usability. Do you really think Apple's going to now turn around and say "but if you want to save a few bucks, you can have a sort of fucked up version of that"? It would be like if they had made an iPod Mini with just half a scroll wheel.
I'll say it one more time: the iPhone is the interface. The interface is multi-touch, at something close to layout and scale of the current model. That means to make an iPhone, Apple is pretty much locked into the hardware to support that interface, and once they've made the hardware it doesn't make any more sense to segregate models by withholding software than it would be sell MacBooks without Safari and Text Edit and Mail.
Email is a requirement if we expect to be rid of SMS and MMS services. Email and Instant Messaging (which is tied to an Email address) will replace both. I also see no future for mobile devices that don't have a browser.
Let's face it, phones are full of problems and the last thing Apple needs to do is encourage Motorola and Nokia to continue making super cheap phones that don't do much just because that's the way the market is right now when Apple can redefine the market and what a phone should be, here's a hint as to what that is: not a phone. You can't keep calling it a phone if it's not just a phone.
Sebastian
In the UK at least (and I suspect around the world) kids are only interested in SMS etc, they don't want email. Service providers make massive amounts on the sale of SMS bundles; they make nothing on email. So no-one has any motivation to drive towards email being the standard and certainly not to loose SMS.
I say there will only be one iPhone line. Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, etc.
There is no future for devices that cut out functionality in the name of the game of marketing price points.
Would you care to explain the popularity of the iPod Mini, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle then? and the MacBook and iMac for that matter.
The general public (not us Apple fans) are very driven by price.
What's the point of leaving email, for instance, out of "cheaper" iPhone? It doesn't cost Apple anything to include.
All you're doing is lowering perceived value, without lowering your manufacturing costs.
I have a Powerbook that Apple took the DVD-RW functionality out of. I had to apply a firmware hack to go from the specified DVD-R (1x) to the DVD-R(2x)/DVD-RW(1x) drive it actually was.
I have iMacs that are quite capable of driving dual displays; Apple fixed the firmware to prevent anything other than mirroring.
I'm not saying it's right or logical but it's what big businesses do to create opportunities for their products in different markets. Most people won't seriously consider spending $600 on a phone even if it is a whizzy iPod too.
I know about the popularity of SMS/MMS, it's very popular in my high school, except one thing, it's just a limited sort of email between phones and it's even being driven into the Desktop now. Skype's had SMS for at least a year, iChat will have SMS...
I recall about seven years ago websites appeared where you could send SMS's for free, they just had a short ad at the end. ICQ integration was several years ago as well. I personally have been using SMS actively for the last nine years. SMS isn't a "fashion" thing, but a triend and tested, dirt cheap technology that just makes sense. I have had emails "on the way" for multiple hours, or even not getting through, when some servers go on the blink. SMS has never taken more than a minute to arrive, and has never failed to arrive. It'll be a long time till email is ready to actually replace it.
it's insane and that's why I'm for the adoption of Email and IM in phones to replace SMS/MMS and couldn't give a damn about what the phone service provider wants because sooner or later they're going to be reduced to the same status as a DSL provider and AT&T certainly doesn't charge me for every email I send nor should they be allowed to.
I like the general concept of getting ubiquituous IP connectivity in phones and eventually ditching voice and video calls in favor of IM's with voice and video chat and SMS for e-mail. There are tremendous benefits in this. Voice calls through IM will be practically free as they take up so little data, businesses and everyone else can setup end-to-end encryption, etc. You can even stop traffic analysis with simple redirection.
Do you think SMS will cost anything to use in two years' time? I don't. The carriers will continue getting paid for calls (since voice chat solutions won't standardize in a few years). The future moneymakers will be video calls and data. SMS doesn't stress the network at all, so as competition gets harder it'll get thrown in call plans as a bonus.
I recall about seven years ago websites appeared where you could send SMS's for free, they just had a short ad at the end.
Try this widget:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashb...messaging.html
Free, integrates with AddressBook contacts and very quick. Full 160 characters (or mutliple messages) and looks exactly like you sent it from your phone number. One tip is that I certainly need to convert numbers to their International equivalent so if I send a text message I have to send to number +447968555555 rather than 07968 555 555. Callwave branding only appears if you don't use full 160 chars.
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Lets say iPhone costs $300 to make. I want to sell iPhone for about $500. However not everyone wishes to spend that much money on an iPod/Phone. So I limit the feature set and sell it as iPhone B at $400 and iPhone A priced at $600. This way I sell more iPhones without the cost involved in re-tooling or designing a different product.
I think we all suspect what the 'big dollar item' is... the screen... if that's true then nothing less than 'economies of scale' will enable a lower cost iPhone (or 'True-Video-iPod')... With any luck Apple has already negotiated pre-determined price cuts on that part (based on increased order volume).
Dave