Rumor: Apple suppliers now shipping 'large number' of parts for low-cost iPhone

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  • Reply 61 of 73
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Richard Getz View Post


     


    Show me where Apple has introduced a cheaper product to gain market share? Keep in mind the difference of form factor (different iPods and iPads) to meet size/function needs for different markets vs. simply making a cheaper version of the same. 



    The iPad mini. The iPod touch - which is way cheaper than the original classic, originally costing about $400. Maybe thats $500 today. The mini. 


     


    And to hell with this dumb restriction not allowing different form factors. If they are cheaper, they are cheaper.


     


    The iPad mini was getting the exact same arguments against last year, even as the components rolled out. Apple doesn't do cheap. And the people who were wrong then are wrong now. Always wrong, always arrogant about being wrong.Still waiting for an iPhone 6. Or 7 this year.

  • Reply 62 of 73
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    asdasd wrote: »
    Apple tried the Mini. It didn't work because it was a decade too late.  However it is most certainly a cheap PC.

    How do you know it didn't work. The mini is stll $600 without any accessories or monitor. You can get a cheap ass PC for half that price. Of course you'll get what you paid for.

    asdasd wrote: »
    The iPad mini. The iPod touch - which is way cheaper than the original classic, originally costing about $400. Maybe thats $500 today. The mini. 

    And to hell with this dumb restriction not allowing different form factors. If they are cheaper, they are cheaper.

    The iPad mini was getting the exact same arguments against last year, even as the components rolled out. Apple doesn't do cheap. And the people who were wrong then are wrong now. Always wrong, always arrogant about being wrong.Still waiting for an iPhone 6. Or 7 this year.

    The first touch at $300 only had 8GB. The 2007 classic was $250 with 80GB.

    There isn't room for the iPhone to shrink. The iPad could shrink to be the mini. You want to give a cheap iPhone only 4GB and a 3" display?
  • Reply 63 of 73
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member


    The original iPod in October 2001 cost $399. It had a mechanical wheel. I have one. And I got it that month.


     


    Nobody is saying the cheap iPhones will shrink, as far as I can see. Shrinking may increase the costs, increasing the size with a plastic case could reduce costs. They may not increase size on the lower end model yet though - as they will want to make sure that the top end also has that size ( but then, there are rumors that the next top end iPhone is not due until 2014).


     


    The main driver of price reductions will be reductions in margins.





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  • Reply 64 of 73
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    asdasd wrote: »
    The original iPod in October 2001 cost $399. It had a mechanical wheel. I have one. And I got it that month.

    Nobody is saying the cheap iPhones will shrink, as far as I can see. Shrinking may increase the costs, increasing the size with a plastic case could reduce costs. They may not increase size on the lower end model yet though - as they will want to make sure that the top end also has that size ( but then, there are rumors that the next top end iPhone is not due until 2014).

    The main driver of price reductions will be reductions in margins.
    Why are you comparing a 2007 iPod to a 2001 version? I could compare a $1100 iMac with a $2300 power Mac 7500 from 1996. See, they did go cheap. It won't make any sense.

    Oh and Apple isn't going to reduce margins just to make something cheaper. There has to be logical reasons to lower margins but market share isn't one if them.
  • Reply 65 of 73
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post





    There has to be logical reasons to lower margins but market share isn't one if them.


     


    China Mobile


     


    You figure it out.

  • Reply 66 of 73
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    jungmark wrote: »
    Why are you comparing a 2007 iPod to a 2001 version? I could compare a $1100 iMac with a $2300 power Mac 7500 from 1996. See, they did go cheap. It won't make any sense.

    Oh and Apple isn't going to reduce margins just to make something cheaper. There has to be logical reasons to lower margins but market share isn't one if them.

    I am comparing 2001 to 2007 in iPods because we are comparing 2007 to 2013 in iPhones.

    Remedially yours.

    Asd
  • Reply 67 of 73
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Richard Getz View Post


    What I am suggesting is that Apple won't release a cheaper, plastic $99 phone simply to gain market share as that phone, in my opinion, will greatly reduce the user experience, something Apple clearly is more concerned about than number of sales. 



     


    Nevertheless, Tim Cook does clearly care a lot about number of sales.


     


    Witness the extra effort to in China and India, with trade-in programs and payment plans.


     


    As for reducing the user experience, I don't think a plastic body alone would do that.  Past plastic iPhones were just fine.  (Fit the hand better, too.  Make a plastic one that's water and dust resistant, and I think it would be  a hit in many parts of the world.)


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post



    Oh and Apple isn't going to reduce margins just to make something cheaper.  There has to be logical reasons to lower margins but market share isn't one if them.


     


    The iPad mini exists specifically to get mid-sized tablet market share, and they were willing to accept lower cash margins to get into that market.   Yes, I know the argument that it's not the same as making a cheaper iPad, but since it cannibalizes that model, it's the market equivalent.


     


    I think what you're all trying to say is that you don't think Apple (or at least, the old Jobs Apple) would make what you consider to be a junk phone... although no one has specified what the definition of that is.


     


    For example, a plastic case alone doesn't mean a phone is junk, unless you think past iPhones were junk. Likewise, they continue to sell phones with two year old technology, but they're not junk either. 


     


    So what exactly would constitute an actual junk iPhone?  Non-retina?  That doesn't seem enough to qualify, either.  Thoughts?

  • Reply 68 of 73
    richard getzrichard getz Posts: 1,142member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by KDarling View Post


     


    Nevertheless, Tim Cook does clearly care a lot about number of sales.


     


    Witness the extra effort to in China and India, with trade-in programs and payment plans.


     


    As for reducing the user experience, I don't think a plastic body alone would do that.  Past plastic iPhones were just fine.  (Fit the hand better, too.  Make a plastic one that's water and dust resistant, and I think it would be  a hit in many parts of the world.)


     



     


    Excellent point, thank you. Apple has made effort, that does not reduce the user experience, to put phones into more people's hands. 


     


    If you think Apple will release a plastic phone, please show me what product Apple has currently in plastic? Okay, the Airport is plastic and I think the Apple TV are, but they are not in the category of products we are discussing. No iPod, iPad, or Mac is currently plastic so I don't see the iPhone going that way. 


     


    Again, if they do go with an entry iPhone, it will probably be modeled after the new iPod Touch. 

  • Reply 69 of 73
    richard getzrichard getz Posts: 1,142member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    Apple used to produce plastic iBooks. I am not sure what kind of argument that even is? There was a time when Apple didn't produce phones. Now they do. They do stuff they haven't before sometimes. In this case they have before.





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    Yes and I use to have a CRT monitor also and my first monitor was green. What is your point again? 

  • Reply 70 of 73
    richard getzrichard getz Posts: 1,142member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post


    The iPad mini. The iPod touch - which is way cheaper than the original classic, originally costing about $400. Maybe thats $500 today. The mini. 


     


    And to hell with this dumb restriction not allowing different form factors. If they are cheaper, they are cheaper.


     


    The iPad mini was getting the exact same arguments against last year, even as the components rolled out. Apple doesn't do cheap. And the people who were wrong then are wrong now. Always wrong, always arrogant about being wrong.Still waiting for an iPhone 6. Or 7 this year.



     


    Once again, you point to a form factor to meet a market need and attribute it to Apple reaching for market share. The iPad mini is not a "cheaper version" of the iPad, but a smaller form factor. Yes it started out with a non Retina screen, which was probably to keep a price point they thought was need to sell this size until they could produce enough Retina screens at a cost savings to add to the mini. 


     


    Again, you look at things from the Microsoft Marketing point of "how can we gain more market share" vs. Apple, which is probably "how can we create really cool products everyone wants to buy". 

  • Reply 71 of 73
    richard getzrichard getz Posts: 1,142member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post



    Every year the same arguments. In 2015 Apple won't be producing cheaper TVs despite the Android competition.


     


    And yet, each year Apple products keep getting better and better in build and quality. 

  • Reply 72 of 73
    richard getzrichard getz Posts: 1,142member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by blackbook View Post


     


    I agree that simply making the phone plastic won't do anything for the price. 


     


    But, I would assume if a cheaper iPhone were to happen it wouldn't be that much cheaper than Apple's current handsets. I could see a device akin to the 4S sold for $399. That's only $50 less than the 4S would be sold for anyway. Apple could figure out a way to assemble the new handset that's easier and cheaper than the 4/4S currently are, and that would help them retain their margins or possible even grow them. In order to avoid cannibalization with the 5/5S, Apple can disable some of iOS 7's graphical elements as they are going to do with the iPhone 4, and use a smaller 5MP camera as well as limit the device to 8GB of storage. With less onboard storage Apple could convince more people to utilize the benefits of iCloud and iTunes Radio.


     


    With all that said, I don't see a sub-$300 from Apple anytime soon.



     


    I posted before, and continually, that if Apple places an iPhone into the entry level, it would be more like the new iPod rather than just last years phone. However, what I see happening mores is what I think you are commenting towards, a reduction in price point. 


     


    Remember when Apple finally gave iOS for free on the iPod Touch stating "we finally found a way to do that"?


     


    Option #1 will be for them to finally find a way to sell the oldest iPhone for the cheapest possible price, probably due to component aging giving the needed reduction in raw materials. 


     


    Option #2 might be to rebrand the iPhone 4s with stripped down features of the iPod Touch (single camera, 16GB storage) to iPhone Mini and move the iPhone 5s to just the iPhone. Same as the iPod naming scheme, and the size would even match up. This new iPhone Mini will have slower improvements while the iPhone will remain the flagship. 

  • Reply 73 of 73
    :\ iPhones are not pricey. You can get the iPhone 5 under $200 with a new contract..
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