Big screens came about because Android was very energy inefficient early on, and these devices needed a large battery to compete, so why not add a large screen?
Do you have concrete evidence, or are you just regurgitating nonsense that's been said over and over?
But if they didn't have the 5C they would have kept the iPhone 5 in that category. Were the colour options enough to make it a success compared to what the iPhone 5 would have sold? How does the R&D for the 5C plus the move to a plastic chassis affect the cost?
No. The design of the 5 and 5s are extremely difficult to assemble. Apple probably had two thoughts in creating the 5c...
1. Devote all current iPhone 5 assembly lines to produce the 5s (which is even more difficult to assemble thanks to Touch ID).
2. Design a new model that is much easier to manufacture to replace "last year's flagship model".
I'm guessing in the long run it was much more cost effective to create a brand new model than it was to add assembly/manufacturing lines to stick with the iPhone 5 and the new iPhones 5s.
From this point on, we'll see two design aesthetics; the high precision, highly refined flagship model, and the colorful plastic model. We will no longer see "last year's flagship model" - it will be dropped and those components will be used for the plastic model. Only "last year's C model" will stick around.
So this Fall expect to see...
iPhone 6 - brand new phone. Reason to buy, latest style and tech
iPhone 5cs - same tech as 5s, same style as 5c. (Two sizes - 4" and 4.7") Reason to buy, larger display
iPhone 5c - no changes. Reason to buy, economy
Year after that...
iPhone 6s - same design as 6 but new tech (two sizes; 4" and 4.7")
iPhone 6c - new design, same tech as 6 (two sizes 4" and 4.7")
iPhone 5cs - no changes. only offered in 4".
iPhone 5c - no changes, $299 without contract
===================================
Edit: Shuffled around models to make a little more sense.
Big screens came about because Android was very energy inefficient early on, and these devices needed a large battery to compete, so why not add a large screen?
Your logic doesn't add up. Powering the display is the largest drain on a smartphone battery. The energy used by the OS is just a fraction of what the display uses.
But if they didn't have the 5C they would have kept the iPhone 5 in that category. Were the colour options enough to make it a success compared to what the iPhone 5 would have sold? How does the R&D for the 5C plus the move to a plastic chassis affect the cost?
We will never know what the 5 would have done. But many people want new phones rather than last year's model. Also many put color near the top of their selection criteria.
That is what Apple say. But its really not. Those people who were buying cheap phone when THE iPhone arrived, were in queue to and realized how much money they have. Its just publicity stunt. Apple just did not sell as many as iPhone 5 devices as they expected. So, they have given plastic clothes to its inner skeleton and sold it as iPhone 5C. Sorry brother. I dont agree with you.
Your logic doesn't add up. Powering the display is the largest drain on a smartphone battery. The energy used by the OS is just a fraction of what the display uses.
Exactly, they could've just made the phone thicker.
Your logic doesn't add up. Powering the display is the largest drain on a smartphone battery. The energy used by the OS is just a fraction of what the display uses.
They popped up as a way to add LTE to the phone. The cultural change for a large display phone as a partial or complete replacement for a traditional "PC" was just dumb luck for the Android-based OEMs.
We will never know what the 5 would have done. But many people want new phones rather than last year's model. Also many put color near the top of their selection criteria.
I agree that was most likely Apple's reasoning, as well as a possible increased cost for the iPhone 5 casing, but I do think it muddies the water when you release a high and mid-tier device at the same time. If they want to do this I'd prefer if they release the iPhone 5C replacement in a colorful plastic casing right after WWDC with iOS 7.x and then have an event for the next iPhone in the Autumn as usual which will come with iOS 8, and all other devices will be updated to iOS 8 that same week. This would probably give a bump to the mid-range in the Summer.
iPhone 6s - same design as 6 but new tech (two sizes; 4" and 4.7")
iPhone 6cs - same specs as 6 (two sizes 4" and 4.7")
iPhone 6c - "last year's model" - one size 4".
iPhone 5c - $299 without contract
I've never been a fan of Apple's name choices but I have to think even they think iPhone 6CS is wrong.
Yes, all the people who keep fretting over how many Apple sold, whether it was successful or not, etc. The C product will fill the low to mid range quite nicely. The phone is actually really nice not like other manufacturers cheap plastic. My guess is this year we'll see a C style phone with new colors. And I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a bigger screen to go along with it. I'm hoping this is the year Apple finally ditches the numbering scheme for iPhones. Having new phones called 6 and 5SC seems dumb.
That's not correct either. There were already big screen phones before they started adding LTE.
Bigger devices because they weren't engineered as well to take advantage of space savings but their deliberate footprint growth clearly started when added 1st gen LTE chips.
Galaxy S was 4", same as current iPhone, but didn't include LTE, while the Galaxy S II added LTE but moved up to 4.3" and 4.5", but I don't think the 4.3" models had that option.
I dunno. I always viewed the 5c as a supply chain play, pure and simple. By switching the shell and internals over from a time-consuming CNC-machined aluminum shell to a much simpler-to-manufacture plastic shell with stamped steel framing for the 5c, Apple ensured that the mid-tier iPhone model would not create a production bottleneck that could affect supply for the iPhone 5s.
If Apple kept the iPhone 5 in production as the mid-tier model, they would have had to double their CNC aluminum machining capacity in order to accommodate demand for both the 5 and 5s. By discontinuing the 5 and switching the 5c over to a faster and less expensive production method, Apple raised the margins for the mid-tier model and switched the iPhone 5 lines over to the 5s without needing a huge increase in machining capacity. And the 5c presented a new marketing opportunity for Apple that keeping the 5 would not have had.
When the iPod was Apple's volume leader, they never had any issue with multiple form factors, colors, and capacities. Even now, with the iPhone, Apple still has to consider the different carrier configurations and regional variants. When the iPhone 6 comes out, it will have a new body style, so moving the 5s to the middle tier and the 5c to the entry level would essentially keep the production distribution similar to what Apple has right now. The wild card would be if the new iPhone lineup includes two different sizes.
I've never been a fan of Apple's name choices but I have to think even they think iPhone 6CS is wrong.
They did have an "iPhone 3GS", so "6CS" isn't too far out in left field. (And I understand the "3G" is in reference to the mobile standard.) However, I do tend to agree with you, and my use of "6CS" was just as a placeholder to distinguish a newer plastic model with the same industrial design as the previous model.
With two distinct lines now, Apple may have to reconsider their naming conventions. What that would be, who knows?
They did have an "iPhone 3GS", so "6CS" isn't too far out in left field. (And I understand the "3G" is in reference to the mobile standard.) However, I do tend to agree with you, and my use of "6CS" was just as a placeholder to distinguish a newer plastic model with the same industrial design as the previous model.
With two distinct lines now, Apple may have to reconsider their naming conventions. What that would be, who knows?
The iPhone 3G was the flagship phone and the 3GS was the next flagship phone with that same case design. I don't see how that's in any way comparable to the midrange iPhone 5C becoming the iPhone 5CS. I don't put it past Apple but I hoping they don't go with that.
This article makes no sense. Apple has been producing multiple colors of its products since the second generation iMacs way back in the 1990s, plus multiple colors of iPod nanos for years. What lessons could Apple possibly have learned about managing 5 colors of iPhone 5C inventory when it had already spent years doing the same thing for iPod nanos?
This article makes no sense. Apple has been producing multiple colors of its products since the second generation iMacs way back in the 1990s, plus multiple colors of iPod nanos for years. What lessons could Apple possibly have learned about managing 5 colors of iPhone 5C inventory when it had already spent years doing the same thing for iPod nanos?
Lots of lessons. Those translucent plastic casings on the iMacs aren't the same as on the iPhone 5C. If you really think that a colour is the same regardless of where it's placed then explain why they had white Macs starting in the 90's, and white iPods and even a white iPhone in 00's, yet had to delay the white iPhone 4 almost a year after it was initially promised.
After releasing iPhone 4 in June 2010, the company struggled to perfect the production of its planned white version until April 2011. That highlights the complexity of the product development and operational challenges involved in managing the production of devices on the scale of iPhone.
I think this is slightly mis-worded, in that the issue is not about achieving scale of production generally - it was about the specific design that Apple were trying to implement with iPhone 4. That may seem like a small change, but I think it's actually very meaningful.
I say this because one thing Apple is very good at is a very quick ramp up to high scale for a new product line, which is - operationally and logistically - extremely challenging. Apple definitely owes Tim Cook a lot of kudos for leading the creation of that system.
This article makes no sense. Apple has been producing multiple colors of its products since the second generation iMacs way back in the 1990s, plus multiple colors of iPod nanos for years. What lessons could Apple possibly have learned about managing 5 colors of iPhone 5C inventory when it had already spent years doing the same thing for iPod nanos?
You're forgetting that the iPod doesn't have variants for different cellular radios, so its a multidimensional inventory management task to produce a SmartPhone in multiple colors versus an iPod in multiple colors.
I see the iPhone 5C 8GB model rolling out in select markets as part of a plan to create two tiers within Apple’s distribution network:
Tier 1 carriers cover markets where the demographic will support healthy sales of the latest flagship iPhones. These are the approximately 270 existing iPhone carriers around the world, expanding to maybe 300 carriers.
Tier 2 carriers cover markets where the demographic supports a mid-priced lower-premium iPhone model. These are the approximately 50 carriers Apple indicated in its January earnings call that it was bringing on during the Jan-Mar quarter, plus markets like India where Apple is growing its presence. Apple's sales into markets served by these carriers will mostly be comprised of the iPhone 5C and 4S (until the latter is discontinued).
Here is my straw man for Apple’s 2014 iPhone line-up:
Discontinued:
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S 8GB: May still be available as a new model in India ($349 with local financing)
Tier 2 markets:
iPhone 5C 8GB: $399 unlocked
iPhone 5C 16GB: $0 on contract, $449 unlocked
iPhone 5S 16GB: $99 on contract, $549 unlocked
iPhone 5S 32GB: $199 on contract, $649 unlocked
Tier 1 markets:
iPhone 5C 16GB: $0 on contract, $449 unlocked
iPhone 5S 16GB: $99 on contract, $549 unlocked
iPhone 5S 32GB: $199 on contract, $649 unlocked
iPhone 5S 64BG: $299 on contract, $749 unlocked
iPhone 6 4.7” 16GB: $199 on contract, $649 unlocked
iPhone 6 4.7” 32GB: $299 on contract, $749 unlocked
iPhone 6 4.7” 64GB: $399 on contract, $849 unlocked
iPhablet 5.5” 32GB: $299 on contract, $749 unlocked
iPhablet 5.5” 64GB: $399 on contract, $849 unlocked
iPhablet 5.5” 128GB: $499 on contract, $949 unlocked
Note that I think Apple leaves all three storage options (16/32/64GB) available for the 5S as I think Apple will not be trying to push customers to the newer model as much as give customers a screen size option. You want the 4" display, we've got a full line at that size, as well as a full line at the larger sizes.
Note that I think Apple leaves all three storage options (16/32/64GB) available for the 5S as I think Apple will not be trying to push customers to the newer model as much as give customers a screen size option. You want the 4" display, we've got a full line at that size, as well as a full line at the larger sizes.
No addition of a 4th option at 128GB or doubling of capacities for the iPhone 6's to 32GB/64GB/128?
Comments
Do you have concrete evidence, or are you just regurgitating nonsense that's been said over and over?
But if they didn't have the 5C they would have kept the iPhone 5 in that category. Were the colour options enough to make it a success compared to what the iPhone 5 would have sold? How does the R&D for the 5C plus the move to a plastic chassis affect the cost?
No. The design of the 5 and 5s are extremely difficult to assemble. Apple probably had two thoughts in creating the 5c...
1. Devote all current iPhone 5 assembly lines to produce the 5s (which is even more difficult to assemble thanks to Touch ID).
2. Design a new model that is much easier to manufacture to replace "last year's flagship model".
I'm guessing in the long run it was much more cost effective to create a brand new model than it was to add assembly/manufacturing lines to stick with the iPhone 5 and the new iPhones 5s.
From this point on, we'll see two design aesthetics; the high precision, highly refined flagship model, and the colorful plastic model. We will no longer see "last year's flagship model" - it will be dropped and those components will be used for the plastic model. Only "last year's C model" will stick around.
So this Fall expect to see...
iPhone 6 - brand new phone. Reason to buy, latest style and tech
iPhone 5cs - same tech as 5s, same style as 5c. (Two sizes - 4" and 4.7") Reason to buy, larger display
iPhone 5c - no changes. Reason to buy, economy
Year after that...
iPhone 6s - same design as 6 but new tech (two sizes; 4" and 4.7")
iPhone 6c - new design, same tech as 6 (two sizes 4" and 4.7")
iPhone 5cs - no changes. only offered in 4".
iPhone 5c - no changes, $299 without contract
===================================
Edit: Shuffled around models to make a little more sense.
Inadvertent pioneers.
Big screens came about because Android was very energy inefficient early on, and these devices needed a large battery to compete, so why not add a large screen?
Your logic doesn't add up. Powering the display is the largest drain on a smartphone battery. The energy used by the OS is just a fraction of what the display uses.
Bingo!
We will never know what the 5 would have done. But many people want new phones rather than last year's model. Also many put color near the top of their selection criteria.
Haha. Can't be any worse than the iMac color / designs back in the day.
Really? You know what Apple expected on the 5?
Exactly, they could've just made the phone thicker.
They popped up as a way to add LTE to the phone. The cultural change for a large display phone as a partial or complete replacement for a traditional "PC" was just dumb luck for the Android-based OEMs.
I agree that was most likely Apple's reasoning, as well as a possible increased cost for the iPhone 5 casing, but I do think it muddies the water when you release a high and mid-tier device at the same time. If they want to do this I'd prefer if they release the iPhone 5C replacement in a colorful plastic casing right after WWDC with iOS 7.x and then have an event for the next iPhone in the Autumn as usual which will come with iOS 8, and all other devices will be updated to iOS 8 that same week. This would probably give a bump to the mid-range in the Summer.
I've never been a fan of Apple's name choices but I have to think even they think iPhone 6CS is wrong.
That's not correct either. There were already big screen phones before they started adding LTE.
Bigger devices because they weren't engineered as well to take advantage of space savings but their deliberate footprint growth clearly started when added 1st gen LTE chips.
Galaxy S was 4", same as current iPhone, but didn't include LTE, while the Galaxy S II added LTE but moved up to 4.3" and 4.5", but I don't think the 4.3" models had that option.
I dunno. I always viewed the 5c as a supply chain play, pure and simple. By switching the shell and internals over from a time-consuming CNC-machined aluminum shell to a much simpler-to-manufacture plastic shell with stamped steel framing for the 5c, Apple ensured that the mid-tier iPhone model would not create a production bottleneck that could affect supply for the iPhone 5s.
If Apple kept the iPhone 5 in production as the mid-tier model, they would have had to double their CNC aluminum machining capacity in order to accommodate demand for both the 5 and 5s. By discontinuing the 5 and switching the 5c over to a faster and less expensive production method, Apple raised the margins for the mid-tier model and switched the iPhone 5 lines over to the 5s without needing a huge increase in machining capacity. And the 5c presented a new marketing opportunity for Apple that keeping the 5 would not have had.
When the iPod was Apple's volume leader, they never had any issue with multiple form factors, colors, and capacities. Even now, with the iPhone, Apple still has to consider the different carrier configurations and regional variants. When the iPhone 6 comes out, it will have a new body style, so moving the 5s to the middle tier and the 5c to the entry level would essentially keep the production distribution similar to what Apple has right now. The wild card would be if the new iPhone lineup includes two different sizes.
I've never been a fan of Apple's name choices but I have to think even they think iPhone 6CS is wrong.
They did have an "iPhone 3GS", so "6CS" isn't too far out in left field. (And I understand the "3G" is in reference to the mobile standard.) However, I do tend to agree with you, and my use of "6CS" was just as a placeholder to distinguish a newer plastic model with the same industrial design as the previous model.
With two distinct lines now, Apple may have to reconsider their naming conventions. What that would be, who knows?
The iPhone 3G was the flagship phone and the 3GS was the next flagship phone with that same case design. I don't see how that's in any way comparable to the midrange iPhone 5C becoming the iPhone 5CS. I don't put it past Apple but I hoping they don't go with that.
Lots of lessons. Those translucent plastic casings on the iMacs aren't the same as on the iPhone 5C. If you really think that a colour is the same regardless of where it's placed then explain why they had white Macs starting in the 90's, and white iPods and even a white iPhone in 00's, yet had to delay the white iPhone 4 almost a year after it was initially promised.
I think this is slightly mis-worded, in that the issue is not about achieving scale of production generally - it was about the specific design that Apple were trying to implement with iPhone 4. That may seem like a small change, but I think it's actually very meaningful.
I say this because one thing Apple is very good at is a very quick ramp up to high scale for a new product line, which is - operationally and logistically - extremely challenging. Apple definitely owes Tim Cook a lot of kudos for leading the creation of that system.
You're forgetting that the iPod doesn't have variants for different cellular radios, so its a multidimensional inventory management task to produce a SmartPhone in multiple colors versus an iPod in multiple colors.
Note that I think Apple leaves all three storage options (16/32/64GB) available for the 5S as I think Apple will not be trying to push customers to the newer model as much as give customers a screen size option. You want the 4" display, we've got a full line at that size, as well as a full line at the larger sizes.
No addition of a 4th option at 128GB or doubling of capacities for the iPhone 6's to 32GB/64GB/128?