“Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White issued a research note today indicating that a cheaper ‘iPhone Mini’ would be announced in June along with the next version of the iPhone 5, the 5S, and shipped in July,” John Koetsier reports for VentureBeat.
“The ‘iPhone Mini’ is not actually expected to be smaller than an iPhone 5 — except in price — but will have a curved back casing constructed with colored plastic, White says, and should be priced somewhere between $350 and $400, as opposed to iPhone 5′s $700 to $900 price tag,” Koetsier reports. “Naturally, there will be deals with carriers to get the phones for ‘free’ with wireless plans.”
Koetsier reports, “The new report also confirms that, in keeping with Apple’s long-standing practice of unveiling similar update models, the iPhone 5S will look almost identical to the iPhone 5, but will have a slightly larger camera, plus fingerprint identification technology for security.”
Read more in the full article here.
Nope.
I personally do not like the idea of colorful iPhones for anything but the less expensive ones. I think the one flagship should represent the epitome of great design. Offering it in a magnitude of colors does not imbue that.
But for the less expensive one I think it’s fine, it gives it a more youthful pop feel, but not one I think the flagship necessarily needs.
Except no plastic enclosures. Every other Apple mobile product enclosure is uni-body aluminum. It’s less expensive overall, recyclable and lighter. No reason not to offer the same color palette as the iPod line in the less pricey iPhone
Apple will announce them when they are ready. Prior to Apple’s announcement, everything is just noise – especially from Anal-ysts.
That sounds similar to what I always say … “When someone from Apple is standing on a stage telling me what it can do, what it will cost, and when I can buy it, then I’ll believe it. Until then it’s all speculative BS.”
… And it will be flexible, made of graphite, have a twin turbo V8….. Etcetera, etcetera, bla, bla, bla
Just a set up for the stock market to beat up on AAPL when Apple doesn’t give them these idiotic fantasies.
EXACTLY! I love it when AAPL tanks the day after an event because Apple didn’t deliver the holographic stereophonic nerd-gasmic tech toy someone rumored about on the inter-tubes.
Do these analysts do anything other than publish tired, old rumors? Where can I get a cushy job like that?
You’re already doing that here, you just aren’t getting paid for it. 😉
I don’t think this will move the stock very much. Without a larger iPhone I think it will be a disappointment. Could be looking at under $400 per share soon.
The iPod Mini was the breakout device for Apple. It really took the wind out of the competitors sails and helped Apple dominate the market.
Despite the lower price Apple still attained good margins with the iPod Mini. Maybe not as good as the original but the volume made up for it.
If Apple do release a iPhone Mini then it could provide greater access to emerging markets and the low cost market for established ones.
I’ve been tinkering with my buddy’s Samsung 7″ Galaxy and it is nowhere near iPad in terms of usability. The delay between tap and clik sound is embarrassing, even compared to the 1st gen iPad. It’s jerky and clunky and not smooth at all. No wonder they keep cramming in 4 core cpu’s in those things – got to put lipstick on a pig I guess.
Supporting iPod (especially the non-iOS models) is significantly less expensive affair for Apple than supporting the iPhone (and other iOS devices). While there are greater number of iPods in the wild than iPhones, the proportion of iPhones to iPods being brought to the Genius Bar is greatly in favour of iPhones, for obvious reasons (complexity of device, complexity of OS, compared to the iPod).
Creating a cheap iPhone and “making it up on volume” doesn’t take into account the part of the price/profit that has to go into Genius Bar (and other type of) support. With some mass-produced cheapo iPhone, Apple would have to disproportionately scale up the support operations, without the adequate levels of revenue that would pay for such expansion. While I don’t want to completely dismiss the possibility of a cheap iPhone (because they did similar thing with the iPod), I don’t think it will hapen; it just might be too costly to make it worthwhile. Apple was NEVER chasing market share. It is highly unlikely they’ll begin now.
Yeah. Yeah, it’s coming.
This report was based on…
Nothing. 😎
Yeah, I love this line:
“Koetsier reports, “The new report also confirms that, in keeping with Apple’s long-standing…blah, blah, blah.”
How does this unsubstantiated speculation “confirm” anything?
This is sooooo Samsung: cheap plastics to cannibalize its own market. That’s not what Apple has in mind. If Apple launch others size of iPhone, that would not disturb his product’s line, but it would be to get scale, as successfully done with iPad Mini. Otherwise it would leave perplexed everybody, confirming Apple detractors and cheap commenters like Brian White.
What?
I really hope this never happen.
Seems like a cheaper uglier and less great iPhone is the analyst’s wet dream.