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Tech: Apple to release a $149 iPhone late this year
Member Since: 3/10/2011
Posts: 6,381
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Apple to release a $149 iPhone late this year
Apple, which had been working on a more affordable smartphone since at least February 2011, is weighing retail prices of $99 to $149 for a device that would debut in late 2013, at the earliest, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apple has spoken to at least one of the top U.S. wireless carriers about its plans, the person said yesterday.
Executives at Apple have been particularly interested in building a lower-cost model with less-expensive components as a way to appeal to customers in emerging markets, another person has said. More affordable iPhones would help Apple play catch-up with smartphone makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) using Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android mobile software system. Android made up 75 percent of smartphone shipments in the third quarter, compared with 15 percent for Apple, according to IDC.
Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California- based Apple, declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a cheaper iPhone may debut later this year.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said China is a priority.
Strategy Shift
Adding a less-expensive version of the iPhone would be a strategy shift for Apple, which has until now tried to appeal to more budget-conscious customers by cutting the prices of older models. After introducing the iPhone 5, Apple kept selling the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 at reduced prices.
The device would use cheaper parts and may be smaller than current models, people familiar with the plans said. Apple was also considering a more versatile version that would work on multiple wireless networks, according to people who were briefed on the plans.
Tea
Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone, which could launch as soon as later this year. The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body
Apple Inc. AAPL +0.27% is working on a lower-end iPhone, according to people briefed on the matter, a big shift in corporate strategy as its supremacy in smartphones has slipped.
While Apple has explored such a device for years, the plan is progressing and a less expensive version of its flagship device could launch later this year, one of the people said.
The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body, one of the people said.
One possibility under consideration is lowering the cost of the device by using a different shell made of polycarbonate plastic; in contrast, the iPhone 5 currently has an aluminum housing.
Many other parts could remain the same or be recycled from older iPhone models.
Apple could still decide to scrap the plan. A spokeswoman for the Cupertino, Calif., company declined to comment.
Apple now faces greater pressure to make the iPhone more affordable. An onslaught of lower cost rivals powered by Google Inc.'s GOOG -0.20% Android operating system are gaining market share.
In the 2012 third quarter, Apple held only 14.6% of worldwide smartphone shipments, down from a peak of 23% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, according to IDC.
Samsung Electronics Co.'s 005930.SE -0.20% share, meanwhile, rose from 8.8% to 31.3% from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2012.
The Korean electronics maker on Tuesday said it capped its best year ever with another record quarterly profit, adding that it expects operating profit of $8.1 billion to $8.5 billion for the three months that ended in December.
Selling multiple new iPhone models would be something new for Apple. Under former Chief Executive Steve Jobs, Apple prided itself on prioritizing profits over scale and offered a relatively small number of products mostly targeted at the high end.
In more recent years—and especially since Tim Cook took the reins as CEO in August 2011—that has started to change. In October, Apple unveiled a smaller iPad, dubbed the iPad Mini, to go alongside its bigger iPad tablets.
Still, the company has sold only one main new iPhone model, with different storage capacities, at a time since launching the smartphone in 2007.
Today the iPhone is Apple's chief revenue driver, with sales of iPhones and related products and services accounting for 48% of revenue in the quarter ended in September.
Apple has been considering a less-expensive iPhone since at least 2009, viewing it as a way to grab market share and introduce people to the brand, said people familiar with the efforts.
Before the launch of the iPhone 4 in mid-2010, the company developed designs for cheaper phones that were very similar to the iPhone at the time but had a less expensive back and sides, one of the people said.
Apple tabled the idea as some executives worried a second iPhone would complicate its manufacturing processes. The company decided to keep older iPhone models on sale for less, a strategy that didn't require designing new products.
While the iPhone remains the top-selling smartphone in the U.S., Apple's share of the high-end cellphone market has taken a hit in China and remains low in other emerging markets.
The iPhone 5 without a wireless contract starts at $649 in the U.S. on Apple.com, and can cost even more overseas. That's out of reach for many customers in countries where carriers don't help cover the cost of the phone and where Android phones with similar capabilities can cost less.
In the U.S., the iPhone 5 starts at $199 with a two-year wireless contract, while older models are available for $99 or for free with a two-year contract.
Apple's stock has fallen 25% since it reached an all-time closing high of $702.10 in September as investors worry competitors are gaining ground. On Tuesday, Apple's shares closed 4 p.m. trading slightly up at $525.31.
A less-expensive iPhone risks crimping the company's profit margins, which executives have been loath to sacrifice. Even small changes in margins often sway investors.
Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray, said that a less expensive iPhone won't necessarily hurt Apple's overall profit margin if it attracts buyers who haven't bought iPhones before and not those who would have been willing to purchase the higher-end device.
Tea
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Member Since: 8/19/2011
Posts: 8,761
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They say this every year, but maybe this year it'll come true? The analysts and speculators have been getting more things right in the last year or so. They will have to watch out for cannibalizing their products though, I don't think they'd want scores of people getting the low-end phone instead of whatever they come out with next.
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Member Since: 2/10/2012
Posts: 2,319
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That company is getting messier and messier by the day.
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 8,740
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This rumor has been going around since 2010 and WSJ reported this in 2011.
Since we reddening "news".
According to sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the iPhone now has 53% of the U.S. smartphone market, its highest ever share of the market, up from just 37% a year ago. Android is at 42%, down from 53% a year ago.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple...#ixzz2HRaP5GgV
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Member Since: 9/13/2011
Posts: 14,715
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I was thinking this was going to happen one day. An iPhone mini would be interesting.
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Member Since: 3/30/2011
Posts: 9,692
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Oh dear lord they want everyone to have this device ![Mazen](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/19971843.gif)
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Member Since: 6/13/2011
Posts: 11,601
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Worldwide domination ![Alexz](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ec20fb7f.gif)
I knew it would come sooner or later
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 8,740
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Quote:
Originally posted by gagakyle
They say this every year, but maybe this year it'll come true? The analysts and speculators have been getting more things right in the last year or so. They will have to watch out for cannibalizing their products though, I don't think they'd want scores of people getting the low-end phone instead of whatever they come out with next.
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They really do. Tim Cook made a comment about cannibalizing products (since the iPad is currently on its way to cannibalizing the Mac lineup) that said they'd rather cannibalize their own products than someone else kill the product themselves.
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Banned
Member Since: 4/13/2011
Posts: 18,738
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Quote:
Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone
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the shade
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Member Since: 5/4/2012
Posts: 12,811
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Watch them try to pass unsold 3GS's as lower end iPhone 5's, which would pretty much be true, but still ![toofunny2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/faces/toofunny2_zpsb54f2d2d.gif)
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Member Since: 5/20/2011
Posts: 807
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Uh oh. How will the Apple stans (is that allowed?) will react if this actually happens.
It'll be ~diluting the brand~ and all of the poor people will be getting them!!!
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Member Since: 11/11/2010
Posts: 11,240
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Damn then it won't be a luxury anymore having an iPhone makes my broke hood rat ass feel rich seeing my neighborhood cracks heads with them will make them think they're on my level.
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Member Since: 11/11/2010
Posts: 28,420
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Why can't they just lower the prices on all of the iPhones and call it a day? ![Bibliotheque](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/biblio_zps23dff242.gif)
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Member Since: 3/10/2011
Posts: 6,381
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Quote:
Originally posted by mrmaiko
the shade
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!!! that got me hollering tbh.
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Member Since: 12/7/2011
Posts: 18,969
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Quote:
Originally posted by ManDown
Why can't they just lower the prices on all of the iPhones and call it a day? ![Bibliotheque](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/atrlers/biblio_zps23dff242.gif)
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Well they can't. Samsung will increase their processor chip prices by 20%. ![rip](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/rip_zpsec10ede9.gif)
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 8,740
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Quote:
Originally posted by Big Smoke
Watch them try to pass unsold 3GS's as lower end iPhone 5's, which would pretty much be true, but still ![toofunny2](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRL_Smilies_All/faces/toofunny2_zpsb54f2d2d.gif)
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They basically already did this when they made it free
Quote:
Originally posted by zzzzzzy
Uh oh. How will the Apple stans (is that allowed?) will react if this actually happens.
It'll be ~diluting the brand~ and all of the poor people will be getting them!!!
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Poorer people have been getting iPhones + iPhones are coming to Walmart's StraightTalk prepaid plans this week.
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Member Since: 3/27/2009
Posts: 30,284
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Member Since: 2/16/2012
Posts: 8,740
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mong Mong
Well they can't. Samsung will increase their processor chip prices by 20%. ![rip](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/rip_zpsec10ede9.gif)
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That rumor ended up being false. ![rip](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/rip_zpsec10ede9.gif) Plus, Apple is probably going to leave Samsung by 2014 for TSMC.
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Member Since: 12/7/2011
Posts: 18,969
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Quote:
Originally posted by RastaMentality
That rumor ended up being false. ![rip](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/korn0818/ATRLSmilies/rip_zpsec10ede9.gif) Plus, Apple is probably going to leave Samsung by 2014 for TSMC.
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Oh well I tried ![sad](images/smilies/images/smilies/sad.gif)
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Member Since: 5/4/2012
Posts: 12,811
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Quote:
Originally posted by RastaMentality
They basically already did this when they made it free
Poorer people have been getting iPhones + iPhones are coming to Walmart's StraightTalk prepaid plans this week.
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just this time they'll get yall to pay 300 dollars for it.
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