TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will launch a new budget iPhone in the first quarter of 2020 for $399. The external casing of the iPhone will look similar to the iPhone 8 and it will be powered by Apple’s current generation state-of-the-art SoC, the Apple A13 Bionic.
Donna Fuscaldo for The Motley Fool:
If the rumor is true, consumers should expect a smartphone that’s powerful enough to run all of Apple’s services and content. And it will be smaller, with a 4.7-inch screen…
Launching a lower-end iPhone can solve a lot of the company’s pricing issues in certain segments of the world as well as increase the number of people who consume its content and use its services. That area of the business is becoming more important because of the growing reliance on recurring revenue from subscription services to maintain growth… Rolling out a lower-end phone could invite a whole new segment of the market that never used Apple services before… [including] new customers for Apple Arcade, its gaming service that tries to undercut its rivals with a $4.99 a month subscription. That service requires the more powerful A13 processor.
An iPhone SE2 could also improve Apple’s market share, particularly in Asia, where it has faltered in recent years.
MacDailyNews Take: Certainly, at some point with “budget” phones you hit a mass of buyers who simply will not or cannot subscribe to monthly services, not mater how well-priced they are. But, even with a $399 “budget” iPhone, Apple would be nowhere near that point. If they launch such an iPhone, and Ming-Chi Kuo is usually exceedingly accurate, sales of the new device should go very well, indeed!