Rumor: Apple to launch lower-capacity 8GB iPhone 5c this week
Apple is said to be planning the introduction of a new, 8-gigabyte variant of the iPhone 5c -- possibly as soon as this week -- in what could be a bid to turn around flagging sales of the plastic-backed device.
A purported internal email from German carrier o2
News of the change first appeared in a purported internal email from German wireless carrier o2, which will list the handset for sale at ?509 ($707), ?60 under the current ?569 ($791) cost of the 16-gigabyte model. The communique was obtained by German blog stadt-bremerhaven.de.
There is no word on what affect such an introduction would have on the availability of the iPhone 4s, which is currently the only iPhone available in an 8-gigabyte capacity and is often given away for free when consumers subscribe to a two-year service plan with a wireless carrier. Apple also sells an 8-gigabyte version of the older iPhone 4 in developing markets like China and India.
A move to replace the iPhone 4s and iPhone 4 could make sense, as those devices still use Apple's older dock connector technology and sport smaller, 3.5-inch displays rather than the 4-inch display introduced with the iPhone 5. Dropping the iPhone 4s from the international lineup would put all current-generation iPhones on a common platform as the company gears up to introduce the so-called iPhone 6, which is rumored to ship with a larger display.
Sales of the iPhone 5c have reportedly fallen short of Apple's internal estimates as consumers opt for the marginally more expensive iPhone 5s. Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that demand for the iPhone 5c "turned out to be different than we thought" during the company's last quarterly earnings call.
A purported internal email from German carrier o2
News of the change first appeared in a purported internal email from German wireless carrier o2, which will list the handset for sale at ?509 ($707), ?60 under the current ?569 ($791) cost of the 16-gigabyte model. The communique was obtained by German blog stadt-bremerhaven.de.
There is no word on what affect such an introduction would have on the availability of the iPhone 4s, which is currently the only iPhone available in an 8-gigabyte capacity and is often given away for free when consumers subscribe to a two-year service plan with a wireless carrier. Apple also sells an 8-gigabyte version of the older iPhone 4 in developing markets like China and India.
A move to replace the iPhone 4s and iPhone 4 could make sense, as those devices still use Apple's older dock connector technology and sport smaller, 3.5-inch displays rather than the 4-inch display introduced with the iPhone 5. Dropping the iPhone 4s from the international lineup would put all current-generation iPhones on a common platform as the company gears up to introduce the so-called iPhone 6, which is rumored to ship with a larger display.
Sales of the iPhone 5c have reportedly fallen short of Apple's internal estimates as consumers opt for the marginally more expensive iPhone 5s. Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that demand for the iPhone 5c "turned out to be different than we thought" during the company's last quarterly earnings call.
Comments
This is what was expected.....at the time of launch last September it was said that instead of offering a $0 / 8 GB 5c, Apple would continue to offering the iPhone 4S for a limited period of time..it was unclear if this had to do with inventory or distribution channels, or the relative popularity of the 4S in certain markets at the time....but it was always known that while the 4S was going to be the $0 phone a while longer, it was not going to last the full 12 months. In fact, I think there were reports that said until early 2014....so its falling right in line.
What is funny is that Apple could have done this back in September, made an 8 GB $0 version....and totally padded the 5c numbers to offset all the whiney bloggers and analysts....but they did what made the most business sense instead.
If it was clear the 4S was doomed I don't remember reading it. And there is no $0 iPhone. And is it doomed? The price point for the lower iPhone 5c seems higher.
Maybe they should have done this from the start, maybe not. Hindsight is 20-20 vision. If they over calculated the 5S sales then they would have had room to introduce a lower priced version sooner. However they probably wanted to wait until the Christmas and Chinese New Year was over.
so they are releasing a phone with a retarded 8gb of tiny space (this is 2014 last time I ckecked) to save 5$ on cost? If they want to sell the 5c in volume they need to drop the price to $400 or below on the 16g models....
Or, you know, do what they’re doing here. Because they know.
It makes sense to have it replace the iPhone 4S. That would align all current iPhones to the same 4" display and Lightning connector.
then again, i just bought a like new 32GB iPhone 5S for $500 on ebay. much better deal.
Or, you know, do what they’re doing here. Because they know.
Hmmmm...
Ever since Cook announced that they didn't really know when it comes to the 5c... well, I'm not ready to accept that as an answer.
Ever since Cook announced that they didn't really know when it comes to the 5c... well, I'm not ready to accept that as an answer.
Uh… what? Sold better than the 4S did.
Uh… what? Sold better than the 4S did.
Doesn't matter.
Cook said it didn't live up to expectations. Sold lower than they were hoping.
Doesn't matter.
Fail to see how.
Guess that’s why they’re doing this, huh. Problem solved.
I think 8GB of space is almost a slap in the face now days. I'm not even a big user of my phone as far as lots of apps and music and I had to delete things just to install iOS 7.1 with a 16GB iPhone 5C. One thing I'd really like to see is the bottom end phone be 32GB instead of 16GB. Making the offerings 32/64/128 instead of 16/32/64. As people start doing more and more and Apple keeps making the cameras better and better it will use up the storage capacity even faster, especially with these lower capacities.
Once you get a few songs on it and take a few photos that 8GB will be gone in a heartbeat. I know this is supposed to be a cheap offering but its sorta useless with the amount of space on it.
That being said, I think it would be great to see the 5C offered instead of the 4S if thats what Apple intends on doing.
Doesn't matter.
Cook said it didn't live up to expectations. Sold lower than they were hoping.
imo they were expecting much better sales indeed. Beating the 4s sales is setting the bar very low on a redesign phone. The phone is Ok, its a matter of pricing.
Or, you know, do what they’re doing here. Because they know.
Releasing a 8g phone is just plain insulting to me. Its like those guys are stuck in a loop and just cant innovate anymore. They doing this because thats what they usually do? JC, unreal.
They could lower the number of colors so managing is easier , they are others ways than releasing a nerf phone. How about optimizing production and just drop the price?
Fail to see how.
Guess that’s why they’re doing this, huh. Problem solved.
Is this the problem solver?
We don't this and obviously Apple doesn't know this. I've said it before. Apple isn't sure at this point why the 5c sold lower numbers than was expected. Do people just not like it as much as Apple thought they would, is it price, is it features.
I'd imagine this 8 gb model is testing the waters more than it is solving a problem.
imo they were expecting much better sales indeed. Beating the 4s sales is setting the bar very low on a redesign phone. The phone is Ok, its a matter of pricing.
For a phone that was so heavily advertised... I'm sure that Apple thought its sales would come close to the 5s.
Releasing a 8g phone is just plain insulting to me. Its like those guys are stuck in a loop and just cant innovate anymore.
That’s you. You just don’t get it.
For a phone that was so heavily advertised... I'm sure that Apple thought its sales would come close to the 5s.
I think its a bit optimistic to expect the 5C to sell as well as the 5S. That would almost be a slap in the face to Apple IMO. Still, in my area all I see for new iPhones are 5C's...I have yet to see anyone with a 5S. No one! This is a lower income area so it has to be working, at least in the US where they're subsidized.
No a lot of people would find 8G limiting. It's basically the OS and a movie. 16G isn't much better.
Yeah, I know. Guess what? They’re not who it’s for.