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The WSJ, never one to pass up a good (or bad) Apple rumour, is reporting that the company is working on a less expensive alternative to its £530 iPhone. And if that sounds familiar, well, it should. It’s the same rumour it trotted out back in February of 2011.
In other words? Don’t get your hopes up.
According to this latest report, Apple’s rumoured less-expensive smartphone would look much like its flagship (and, well, only recent) model, but would be built from more affordable polycarbonate plastic instead of the slick anodised aluminium of the iPhone 5. It would also likely sport the aging guts of an iPhone 4S, much like the iPad mini uses spare parts from the iPad 2.
So why be skeptical, aside from the coulds that litter the report, and the fact that nothing in it has changed substantially in the last two years other than that “the plan has been progressing”? Because Apple already has a cheaper iPhone. It’s called the iPhone 4S, and it’s available for £449 at the Apple Store. Or, if you’re a real cheapskate, you can pick up the iPhone 4 for just £319.
Is Apple working on prototypes made from cheaper materials? I’m sure it is. It’s also working on prototypes with more expensive materials, and has been exploring both since the very first iPhone came out. But why would Apple sell an iPhone with iPhone 4S parts when it already sells the iPhone 4S? Why make an iPhone 5 out of cheaper materials when in less than a year’s time the iPhone 5 will be discounted heavily to make way for a shiny new iPhone 6 (or 5S, or whatever)?
Could Apple muddle up its iPhone brand clarity by churning out a budget version? Of course it could. Anything’s possible, and if the iPad mini taught us anything it’s that the company’s not afraid to put inferior guts in a good-looking body. But that doesn’t mean it’s about to happen, any more than it did two years ago. [WSJ]
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“nothing in it has changed substantially in the last two years”
Well, somebody died… And since then, Apple U-turned on one of his arrogant design principles, and produced a device designed to compete in one market being dominated by Android rivals.
surely if people want cheaper they just buy the 4 or 4s?
The problem with that is that they’re just the old ones, so they’re not as attractive to consumers as new ones, even if they’re equivalently specced.
Just putting the old devices’ guts into cheaper bodywork would potentially make them even cheaper (or just more profitable, depending on Apple’s level of greed).
And also, it’d let them have a 4S-specced phone with a 16*9 screen, like the new iPod Touch has.
aha good point
Why cant Apple just sell the current iPhone cheaper?
*stops dreaming*
I agree. Just cut your excessive profit margins apple, and let everyone have a cheaper iPhone.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Good one.
Also at some point apple is going to stop supporting these devices as the current os stops running on these devices. However If they had a phone that kept up to date os wise I would be quite interested.
I finally managed to get my hands on an iPhone 5 through a colleague of mine and I have to say I am rather disappointed. The screen was nice but nothing particularly brilliant, no more so than my aging Galaxy S2. iOS looks and feels rather antiquated at best and the feel of the device was rather ‘meh’. My friends recent sony xperia purchase felt a lot more luxurious, despite only costing £150. I thought the iphone 4 was overall a much more pleasant experience when it came out. Apple don’t need to try and compete with the budget market, they desperately need to bring back the wow factor. The iPad still has it (albeit barely). A massive aesthetic overhaul of iOS would be a good start for one. Compared to current Android and windows phones they are otherwise looking rather budget, despite the premium price tag.
What Xperia was this?
I think it was the xperia J
I agree about the wow factor. But how can anyone be a champion forever in any market? I wanted to do some analogy with a luxurious carmaker, but realised I don’t know enough about any of them to say something useful.
Isn’t that the iphone 5s?