Apple's 'budget' iPhone expected to have same 4-inch display as iPhone 5

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 43

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by galore2112 View Post


    Did your 4S stutter when it was first released? No. Not a single iPhone was choppy when it was released. They get choppy with iOS updates (that's why I don't update anymore).


     


    I wouldn't put it past Apple to insert wait states in iOS based on iPhone version as an incentive to upgrade. If the single core A5 runs a current iOS version smoothly then I know that this assumption is true.



     


    Eh, I could deal with it becoming choppy since it's pretty old now, but iOS 6 really didn't bring anything to the table that should make a 4S run slower. So yeah, they probably just don't optimize for the old devices anymore. Still, an A5 in a new product would be weird, who on earth buys a phone with an SOC from 2011 in the year 2013?

  • Reply 22 of 43
    lightknightlightknight Posts: 2,312member
    What would be awesome would be if that "low budget"-iPhone was the iPhone 5.
  • Reply 23 of 43
    lightknightlightknight Posts: 2,312member


    And the 5s carbon fiber :D

  • Reply 24 of 43
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DarenDino View Post



    Apple needs to get its ass in gear.



    It's nearly April and they have not released anything so far, competitors are beating them to it, still no news on Mac Pro either, they are still advertising it on the online store but you can't buy it, bit pointless showing an item that is no longer available.


     


    Who has released something? Blackberry released their phone several months late and missed the entire Christmas quarter. HTC has released an actual phone. Samsung has announced a phone and given nebulous information about availability and pricing. Late April with undetermined pricing isn't a release in my view.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Parkettpolitur View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by galore2112 View Post


    Did your 4S stutter when it was first released? No. Not a single iPhone was choppy when it was released. They get choppy with iOS updates (that's why I don't update anymore).


     


    I wouldn't put it past Apple to insert wait states in iOS based on iPhone version as an incentive to upgrade. If the single core A5 runs a current iOS version smoothly then I know that this assumption is true.



     


    Eh, I could deal with it becoming choppy since it's pretty old now, but iOS 6 really didn't bring anything to the table that should make a 4S run slower. So yeah, they probably just don't optimize for the old devices anymore. Still, an A5 in a new product would be weird, who on earth buys a phone with an SOC from 2011 in the year 2013?



     


    I call bullshit on this. My iPhone 4S has no issues at all with stutter. If you have issues try restarting, restoring it or something else. My phone is as smooth as can be.

  • Reply 25 of 43
    bdkennedy1bdkennedy1 Posts: 1,459member


    Apple could very well make a 5" screen for the iPhone 5S. They would just do the same thing they did with the iPhone 5 - put black bars on the left and right of the App. This is what the iPad does when you run an iPhone App on an iPad.

  • Reply 26 of 43
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by DarenDino View Post

    Apple needs to get its ass in gear.


     


    Not really.






    It's nearly April and they have not released anything so far…



     


    Utter falsehood.


     




    …competitors are beating them to it…



     


    TO WHAT?! TO WHAT?! WHAT COMPETITORS, AND TO WHAT?! THEY DON'T HAVE COMPETITORS IN THE COMPUTER DIVISION! THERE'S NOTHING NEW OUT TO WHICH THEY CAN BE BEATEN!






    …still no news on Mac Pro either, they are still advertising it on the online store but you can't buy it, bit pointless showing an item that is no longer available.



     


    I take it you're in Europe. Enjoy your regulations! image





    Originally Posted by Crowley View Post

    They refreshed the Apple TV.


     


    Hardly. That wasn't a refresh.





    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post

    What would be awesome would be if that "low budget"-iPhone was the iPhone 5.


     


    Indeed.






    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post

    Apple could very well make a 5" screen for the iPhone 5S.



     


    Right; that's just stupid, is all.

  • Reply 27 of 43
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Crowley View Post


    They refreshed the Apple TV.



     


    Seriously!


    they changed the chip to exactly the same chip but in a smaller package. Same box, same specs. That's not a refresh.

  • Reply 28 of 43

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post



    What would be awesome would be if that "low budget"-iPhone was the iPhone 5.


    Where I live the iPhone 5 starts at a price of $699 (16GB) unlocked.  How is switching to a platic / glass casing going to make that a whole lot cheaper?

  • Reply 29 of 43
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Evilution View Post


     


    Seriously!


    they changed the chip to exactly the same chip but in a smaller package. Same box, same specs. That's not a refresh.



    When the claim is that Apple haven't done anything, it counts.  They're busy bees, and lack of an event does not equate to lack of progress.

  • Reply 30 of 43
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member


    How did a rumor that Apple would ever produce a larger display iPhone as a cheaper alternative ever even get started? They have never ever done that. The 17" Macbook Pro was essentially the same as the 15" version but priced far higher. Same goes for the 15" vs. 13" versions. The larger iPad is more expensive than the iPad Mini but also has many other better specs. Why would they completely reverse themselves and make a larger display and then sell it cheaper? Makes no sense. 


     


    Apple always offers a clear differentiation in their products and makes compromises on cheaper products as an incentive to consumers to buy the more expensive version. Hard to believe that a cheaper iPhone would have an identical display. There has to be some compromises you must make to get that lower price point and avoid massive cannibalization. One possibility that makes sense is the cheaper iPhone stays the same size and specs as the iPhone 5 and the next standard iPhone gets bumped specs and a larger display size. 


     


     


     

  • Reply 31 of 43

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Shameer Mulji View Post


    Where I live the iPhone 5 starts at a price of $699 (16GB) unlocked.  How is switching to a platic / glass casing going to make that a whole lot cheaper?



     


    It won't.  Any savings they would have from materials would be lost in retooling and ramping up manufacturing (test runs, reconfigs, etc).

  • Reply 32 of 43


    The budget iPhone has always been the previous generation with less costly chips (less memory, processor die reductions).  There's absolutely no reason to believe that will ever change.


     


    It doesn't need to change because it works, and it works for a number of reasons; it's extremely cost effective and allows everyone to have the real deal, not some cheapo version.  Apple doesn't do cheap versions of anything.

  • Reply 33 of 43
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by trumptman View Post


     


    Who has released something? Blackberry released their phone several months late and missed the entire Christmas quarter. HTC has released an actual phone. Samsung has announced a phone and given nebulous information about availability and pricing. Late April with undetermined pricing isn't a release in my view.


     


     


    I call bullshit on this. My iPhone 4S has no issues at all with stutter. If you have issues try restarting, restoring it or something else. My phone is as smooth as can be.



    Their time span stretches into "June" with the United States being reported as later in that range.....

  • Reply 34 of 43

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gwmac View Post


    How did a rumor that Apple would ever produce a larger display iPhone as a cheaper alternative ever even get started? They have never ever done that. The 17" Macbook Pro was essentially the same as the 15" version but priced far higher. Same goes for the 15" vs. 13" versions. The larger iPad is more expensive than the iPad Mini but also has many other better specs. Why would they completely reverse themselves and make a larger display and then sell it cheaper? Makes no sense. 


     


    Apple always offers a clear differentiation in their products and makes compromises on cheaper products as an incentive to consumers to buy the more expensive version. Hard to believe that a cheaper iPhone would have an identical display. There has to be some compromises you must make to get that lower price point and avoid massive cannibalization. One possibility that makes sense is the cheaper iPhone stays the same size and specs as the iPhone 5 and the next standard iPhone gets bumped specs and a larger display size. 


     


     


     



     


    "One possibility that makes sense is the cheaper iPhone stays the same size and specs as the iPhone 5 and the next standard iPhone gets bumped specs and a larger display size."


     


    Now this makes sense


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chazwatson View Post


     


    It won't.  Any savings they would have from materials would be lost in retooling and ramping up manufacturing (test runs, reconfigs, etc).



    My thoughts exactly.

  • Reply 35 of 43


    The picture showing the past, current, and rumored 'low-cost' iphones gave me an a-ha moment, of sorts.


     


    So, once the 5S is released, the current 5 model will be losing the metal casing for this new 'plastic/glass-fiber' casing. It will become the $99 model (with contract) for which 4S is currently offered. The pre-paid, non-contract carriers may have more flexibility with pricing (charging the non-subsidized price upfront, or doing some kind of 'installment plan' like what seems to be working in India).


     


    So, stepping back, it doesn't look like Apple's basic strategy of introducing a new model and then keeping the current model as a cheaper option is changing all that much. The decision to change the casing material however, does bring up a few questions (including the a-ha bit):


     


     the a-ha part is that going forward, will Apple continue to offer the 4S as a 'free' (albeit with contract) option, or take this opportunity to get rid of the 3.5 inch screen form factor altogether and just consolidate to the 4-inch screen form? It would seem uncharacteristic of Apple to have the new model with 'premium' case, the previous model in the 'low-cost' casing, and then, hey, 3.5 inch 4S with the glass sandwich. That's three different kinds of iphone casings. Eh, maybe...but why?


     


    - will the margins change for the older model? At first I thought that the margins would increase because of the plastic-glass-fiber casing, but the price of the phone would be less as well (to the consumer and the carriers), so maybe the difference isn't all that much.


     


    So, the 'low-cost' as the business press keeps foaming at the mouth about isn't 'low-cost' to the consumer, but 'low cost' to Apple themselves.


     


    Thoughts?

  • Reply 36 of 43
    ankleskaterankleskater Posts: 1,287member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post




    I have to agree... to a certain point. So far Apple has kept to a schedule and it has worked out for them.


     


    Time will tell if it will continue to work for Apple. Waiting too long to release new products has really damaged some companies.





    Their "schedule" in recent past would see a new iPad released around this time. But if the spec refresh in October was considered a new iPad, then it will be a longer wait than usual before anything else. The amazing thing to me is that there isn't even a serious rumor about an impending product launch.

  • Reply 37 of 43
    ankleskaterankleskater Posts: 1,287member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chazwatson View Post


     


    It won't.  Any savings they would have from materials would be lost in retooling and ramping up manufacturing (test runs, reconfigs, etc).





    That doesn't make sense.

  • Reply 38 of 43
    ankleskaterankleskater Posts: 1,287member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    I take it you're in Europe. Enjoy your regulations! image


     



     


    I take it you're in the US. Enjoy your guns, creationism-based science education and retrograde healthcare system. image


     


    Oh damn, so am I. image

  • Reply 39 of 43


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by keizersoze View Post


    So, once the 5S is released, the current 5 model will be losing the metal casing for this new 'plastic/glass-fiber' casing.



     





    Quote:

    Originally Posted by keizersoze View Post


    It would seem uncharacteristic of Apple to have the new model with 'premium' case, the previous model in the 'low-cost' casing, and then, hey, 3.5 inch 4S with the glass sandwich. That's three different kinds of iphone casings. Eh, maybe...but why?



     


    So your conclusion is that it doesn't make sense to create a whole new lower-cost phone that's made of completely different materials?  I'd have to agree with that.


     


     





    Quote:

    Originally Posted by keizersoze View Post


    So, the 'low-cost' as the business press keeps foaming at the mouth about isn't 'low-cost' to the consumer, but 'low cost' to Apple themselves.


     


    Thoughts?



     


    Low cost to Apple is reducing component costs and ramping down existing inventories and manufacturing capabilities.

  • Reply 40 of 43


     


     

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