“Asian suppliers to Apple Inc. have begun manufacturing a lower-priced version of its hot-selling iPhone 4 with a smaller 8 gigabyte flash drive, according to two people with knowledge of the matter,” Clare Jim and Kelvin Soh report for Reuters.
“The flash drive for the 8GB iPhone 4 is being manufactured by a Korean company, one of the people said on Tuesday, declining to name the company. Apple currently sources its flash drives from Japan’s Toshiba and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics,” Jim and Soh report. “The sources declined to be identified because the information has not been made public.”
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Jim and Soh report, “The existing iPhone 4 was first launched in June 2010 with 16 GB and 32 GB versions, with a white version added to the lineup in April. The 8GB version is expected to launch within weeks, the sources said. Some analysts said the cheaper 8GB iPhone 4 could help Apple boost sales in emerging markets… In addition to the launch of the smaller iPhone 4, Apple is targeting an end-September launch for the next-generation iPhone 5, one source said, confirming earlier reports on Apple follower blogsites and industry websites.”
“The new iPhone, which some call the iPhone 4S because of its largely identical appearance to the existing iPhone 4, will have a bigger touch screen, better antenna and an 8-megapixel camera, one of the people said,” Jim and Soh report. “The iPhone 5’s two manufacturers have been told to prepare production capacity for up to 45 million units altogether, the source said. The phone will be made by Hon Hai and Pegatron, the person added.
More information in the full article here.
Well, if Reuters is reporting it, I’m more likely to believe it than if it just says “Rumor.” 😉
But still – damn, and I just got my wife a new iPhone 3GS…
Apple’s opportunity to roll up the score.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_NFL_Championship_Game
Any iphone 5 details?
the title of this article is misleading, the iPhone 4s will not have 8 gb flash but a cheaper iPhone 4 will.
If Apple doesn’t skimp on RAM, I’ll buy one.
I hope the bigger screen rumor is false, I can’t hold & use a bigger screen with one hand. My thumb can only reach so far!
A bigger screen does not necessitate a bigger phone.
Yeah it’s most likely they will just shorten the bezel and get rid of some of the black space at the top
Same size phone, just more screen and less border …..
I’d love a new iPhone to replace my first gen model, but if there’s no affordable plan, forget it. And AT&T can suck a lemon if they think they’ll get my business. $20 for texts when I use about 75/mo??? …. NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
If I understand correctly, you still have the first EDGE iPhone, but are on AT&T’s contract plan ($70 or $80 per month plus taxes & fees, for the minimum voice, no text and unlimited data). If this is the case, then you’ve been donating money to AT&T ever since your original contract expired.
If you don’t want to replace your iPhone as soon as your contract expires, your better option is to move to a pre-paid plan. These plans don’t include the subsidy portion and are always noticeably cheaper than the contract plans. AT&T’s GoPhone plans are not exactly the best deals around ($50 unlimited everything, but must buy a “data package” if you have a smartphone). T-Mobile has better ($50 unlimited everything, including data, or $30 for 1500 minutes or texts, plus 30MB of data, for frugal types).
Stop donating money to AT&T! Either get a new subsidised phone right away, or switch to a plan that does not include a subsidy.
Aren’t you already paying for Data with your original iPhone?
The other benefit of that $20/month is unlimited mobile to mobile. They don’t really tell you that but your unlimited mobile is only for AT&T users unless you buy the $20 text plan then they give you unlimited calls to other cell phones… makes no sense really but thats how it is.
I hope it will be cheaper than the 3GS is today. An iPhone selling for $400 unlocked would keep the Android camp on their toes and squeeze a lot of profits out of Samsung’s and HTC’s line-ups.
The new cases that argued against a similar form factor may have been for a new iPod touch 3G. That would allow for a VOiP option as well. The three would be quite the line up.
There seems to be some confusion in the article about what is coming, due (likely) to a typo.
They say the ‘iPhone 4S’ will be identical to the existing model, only with less storage (8GB), and will be cheaper. That is supposed to come in a few weeks. In addition, we have the ‘iPhone 5’, which is supposed to be the same size, but with larger screen, faster processor, better camera and more storage. This one is supposed to arrive in late September.
I’m not sure how much cheaper 4S could get if the only difference is 8 less GB of storage. Even if they stretch the difference to a full $100, it will still cost over $500 (unsubsidised, unlocked), or at least $100 (with subsidy and ball-and-chain contract).
In a way, all this “4S” is supposed to do is replace “3GS” at the bottom of the product line. Even when iPhone 4 is replaced by iPhone 5, and its price gets dropped (the way it happened to 3GS), that 4S can’t possibly be that much cheaper. I can’t see it selling below $450-500 or so ($0 – $50 with subsidy). This is still too expensive for the mass market, that buys pre-paid Androids for $150 and less.
If Apple releases a low cost iPhone that is only available to the current carriers of AT&T & Verizon, it will change the landscape of the mobile industry. The FCC will have to make a new anti-racketeering law just for Apple. Though Apple isn’t in the mobile carrier business it produces a product and chooses who they sell it too. A product such as the iPhone with such a high demand can easily and has changed the mobile industry and they Apple has become a king maker.
Why would FCC have to do that? No entity should force any company into contracts with anyone else. If Apple makes a deal with Sprint, iPhone will appear on Sprint. If it does not, it will not. Same for T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, MetroPCS, Cricket, Virgin Mobile and all other smaller (pre-paid, no-contract) carriers.
Before we even entertain that idea, let’s get one thing clear: Apple will never make a “cheap” iPhone. Price-wise, it will never compete with the cheap Android devices sold on those cheap pre-paid, no-contract carriers (such as LG Optimus, Samsung Prevail, Dart or Admire, Huawey and similar). These Android devices cost below $200 (some even below $100), they are new, have capacitive touch screen, can run apps and basically satisfy minimum criteria for a smartphone. As such, they don’t differ that much from $500 Droids, EVOs and similar. While iPhone can successfully compete with those $500 Droids and EVOs, there is no way it will compete with the $150 Optimus of $80 Huawey (nor does Apple want to do that).
There will always be a reasonably sizable bottom end of the smartphone market for the sub-$200 unsubsidised cheap Android devices (until Apple wins patent suits against Android makers, that is). Apple will never compete in this market, just like it never competed in the sub- $800 notebook/netbook PC market (where Asus goes for $400).
I wonder if this phone is targeted to the expanding market in China?
ATT iPhones work with Pure Talk USA SIMS. My wife is using an old 3G iPhone with Pure Talk (no data). We are waiting for Apple to release an unlocked iPhone or get a used iPhone 3GS in the next couple of months.
GAME ON. Apple is finally going for volume and marketshare. the low cost 4S cloud phone will take a BIG BIG BIG bite out of android. Expect the marketshare to flip flop from Android to iOS. The smell coming out of the boardrooms of handset makers across the world must be putrid – they’re going to need new pants. You didn’t think apple was going to let google own the future of personal computing?