Budget New iPhone 5 now coming to the UK
Budget New iPhone 5 now coming to the
UK
A plastic iPhone 5 mainly to take on the Samsung models and
costing roughly half the price of the standard Apple smartphone is now coming
to the UK soon, it has been claimed.
The budget version of Apple's new iPhone will cost roughly
$330 which is over £200 priced in order to appeal to young, middle class
consumers in countries like China and India.
The claims were made on the Japanese website Macotakara,
following on from earlier reports about Apple plans for a cheaper phone.
In January it was reported that the planned new phone will
resemble the iPhone 5 from the front but Apple will replace that handset's
aluminium body with a cheaper plastic casing.
Apple fighting back with Budget New iPhone 5
Jeremy Horwitz, of iLounge, also claimed that "reliable
sources" told him in detail what the new device will look like. He said
the new device will have a "retina" display and feature Apple's new
Lightning connector for charging and syncing.
He wrote: "One of our sources claims that Apple’s
iPhone prices remain too high for most mainland Chinese customers — the iPhone
5 hardware alone starts at $849 there, versus the iPhone 4 at $500, in a
country where the average annual salary is around $3,000 per person).
"The source has said that mainland Chinese iPhone 5
sales are already tapering off as a result of the pricing, which is higher than
in Hong Kong. A budget iPhone model would help sales in populous but
underdeveloped countries to grow."
Horwitz also says that Apple will release an upgraded iPhone
5S, with an improved rear camera, perhaps in July. He says his sources claim a
fifth generation iPad and a new iPad mini – with 'retina' display – will be
released in October.
Reports elsewhere suggested that Apple is preparing to add a
new iPad model, with 128GB of storage, some time this year.
In January, Apple announced its record profits in its
quarterly results but saw share prices fall amid analysts' disappointment over
iPhone sales. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said iPhone 5 supply had been
"very constrained for much of the quarter".
The company announced a record 47.8 million iPhones sold but
Wall Street expected more. A cheaper version of the device is seen as essential
by some analysts, particularly if Apple is to make inroads into the growing
Chinese market.
In response to the results, Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with
Global Equities Research, said: "Apple will need to innovate. For Apple to
renew growth they need to come up with new devices."
It appears that Apple is already thinking along the same
lines. The earnings report reveals a 32 per cent increase in Apple's research
and development budget in the final quarter of last year. Apple increased its
spending on R&D to $1 billion, an increase of $252 million, compared with
the same quarter in the previous year.
Apple's filing said: "The Company continues to believe
that focused investments in R&D are critical to its future growth and
competitive position in the marketplace and are directly related to timely
development of new and enhanced products that are central to the Company’s core
business strategy
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