Apple will launch cheaper new iPhone in 2013
According to a January 14 report in Digitimes, Apple will produce a cheaper new iPhone in the second half of this year. Digitimes, adds more details to the cheaper iPhone rumors that the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported last week.
Both Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is developing a cheaper iPhone that could appear in late 2013.
Although many have reported that Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said recently in an interview with Shanghai Evening News that Apple would never make a “cheap” iPhone, he seems to have meant that Apple would never make a “cheap” (as in “shoddy” or “poorly made”) product.
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So, the rumors about a less-expensive iPhone continue and now Digitimes adds more details to a “entry-priced iPhone”. According to its sources in the upper supply chain, Apple may reduce the cost of this model by replacing the reinforced glass and unibody metal chassis with a chassis of plastic.
What's more, it is claimed that the supplier of this plastic material will be a manufacturer in the United States.
Other sources suggest that Apple will design a chassis composed of plastic and metal with the internal parts visible from the outside.
Digitimes says that components for this entry-level iPhone are going through the validation process now and this new iPhone may hit the market in the second half of 2013.
Currently, Apple has relied on lower prices of previous iPhone models to increase market share. For example, the iPhone 4 can be had for just $450 without a contract. But this price is still to high to compete with low-end Android phones in developing countries where people depend on smartphones for their computing needs.
Do you think a cheaper new iPhone may come in the second half of 2013?
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