Low-Cost iPhone to Use Plastic or Hybrid Plastic/Metal Design, Due in Late 2013

Digitimes provides more details about the rumored cheaper iPhone that has been circulating. According to their supply chain sources, this new entry-level iPhone is said to adopt plastic for its chassis rather than the glass and aluminum that has been used on their current models.

They also cite other circulating rumors that suggest that the cheaper iPhone will alternatively offer a "chassis mixed with plastic and metal, with the internal metal parts being able to be seen from outside through special design".

The publication also reports that the components for the low-cost iPhone are going through validation and the final product may come to market in the second half of 2013.

Digitimes reignited the long-running rumors of a low-cost iPhone last week. The report was quickly followed by a Wall Street Journal and Reuters report claiming the same, and offering a target price of $99-$149. Subsequent comments by Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller seemed to suggest that Apple was dismissive of that possibility, but that article was later retracted by the original publication.

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Apple Unofficially confirm iPhone mini

Enthusiasts could not stop talking about the so-called iPhone 5S. This month their attention has turned to concepts for the illusive iPhone Mini, as well as the low-cost iPhone.
Both products could feasibly allow the Mac maker to increase its global market share in the growing smartphone industry. Despite a plethora of hype for these products, however (including a report from The Wall Street Journal, one of the more reliable sources for new iDevices), Apple has reportedly denied the existence of a "cheap" iPhone.
One day later, the company unofficially confirmed its development.
The denial came after Reuters decided to publish a story titled, "Apple exec dismisses cheaper phone as a market share grab-report." Reuters quoted Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, who reportedly told the Shanghai Evening News that the company would not build a cheaper iPhone.
The Next Web later announced that it had verified that this was an "official" interview with Apple.
Now AppleInsider is reporting that Reuters has withdrawn the story. This is a common practice employed by news organizations when a story contains factual errors. The Associated Press did the same after Google's acquisition of ICOA proved to be a hoax.
Reuters has replaced the old story with the following message:
"Reuters has withdrawn the story headlined 'Apple exec dismisses cheaper phone as a market share grab-report' which was based on a Shanghai Evening News report that was subsequently updated with substantial changes to its content.
"No replacement story will be issued."
While it is unclear if Apple or some other source provided the Shanghai Evening News with the "substantial changes" that inspired Reuters to withdraw its story and walk away from the topic, this is a strong sign that Apple is developing a lower-cost smartphone.
Historically, Apple rumors go untouched. Analysts, bloggers and consumers spend countless hours writing about the products the company might release next. Those stories -- no matter how outrageous -- are never withdrawn. However, the moment Reuters quotes an Apple executive who reportedly stated that the firm will not develop a particular product, the story is removed.
Either someone wants to keep the rumor mill going or Apple is making a cheap iPhone.

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iPhone Mini wont debut. Phil Schiller Says It Won’t Be The ‘Future Of Apple Products’

If Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is to be believed, the widely rumored low-cost iPhone could help Apple cater to a market representing as many as 580 million potential customers. But it seems that the Cupertino tech giant is not in a mood to take it into consideration as a company executive simply turned the rumor down in a one-to-one interview with a Chinese newspaper.

Apple is not in a mood to take a low cost iPhone into consideration as the company's SVP of Worldwide marketing Phil Schiller simply turned the rumor down in a one-to-one interview with a Chinese newspaper.Apple SVP of Worldwide marketing Phil Schiller told Chinese newspaper Shanghai Evening News in an official interview that regardless of the popularity of cheaper smartphones, this would “never be the future of Apple products.”

Although iPhone’s market share rose in the fourth quarter of 2011 and in the first quarter of 2012, standing at 23 percent, it dropped down drastically to just 14.6 percent worldwide in the third quarter of 2012. Schiller did address this concern, but tried to validate Apple’s current position in the market saying that the low-cost smartphones have created a new segment in the smartphone market, which Apple does not want to explore.

Schiller said that targeting the low-end of the market by making a cheaper iPhone was not Apple’s way of doing things. Instead, in every product that Apple creates, it considers “using only the best technology available. This includes the production pipeline, the Retina display, the unibody design, to provide the best product to the market.”
“So a lot of people in the Chinese market using a functional machine, some manufacturers use cheap smartphones replace feature phones, but this is not Apple’s product development direction,” said Schiller.
Criticizing some of Apple’s competitors for releasing “multiple products in one breath,” Schiller said that after purchasing such products customers often ended up with “no suitable software products and user experience.”
Apple doesn’t want that to happen to its customers, and as Redmond Pie noted, Schiller argued that “a small product line ensures maximum software and accessory compatibility by reducing the effort on the part of developers and manufacturers to ensure that their products work on all devices.”
There is no doubt that Apple’s market share in smartphones segment has dropped notably in recent times, but despite that the company has claimed to have made significant profits.
“At first, non-smartphones were popular in the Chinese market, now cheap smartphones are more popular and non-smartphones are out,” Schiller added. “Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products. In fact, although Apple’s market share of smartphones is just about 20%, we own the 75% of the profit.”
Schiller nailed the cheaper iPhone rumor down. But should his comment be considered conclusive?
“Schiller’s statements aren’t conclusive in the way that they refer to exactly what price points that Apple will be targeting, only that ‘cheap smartphones’ aren’t really Apple’s fare,” said Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web. “This has always been the case and even with the ‘free’ iPhones, you’re still getting top-notch build quality, just from a couple of models ago. A ‘cheap’ smartphone would imply worse materials or construction in order to meet a price point.”
iDownloadBlog pointed to another report from Edible Apple, saying people should not confuse between a cheap iPhone and a more affordable iPhone.
“The iPad Mini is by no means cheap, but it’s certainly more affordable than the flagship iPad 4th generation,” said the report. “Similarly, a more economical iPhone might be a boon for Apple to the extent that they make more money per device sold than they currently do selling older generation models at steep discounts.”
So what’s your take on a cheaper or, to be more precise, an affordable iPhone? Will a low-cost but not cheaply made iPhone debut in 2013?

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Cheaper iPhone or iPhone Mini Could Make $6.5 Billion For Apple

iPhone Mini expected to costs around $200.
An analyst believes the rumored budget iPhone could generate upwards of $6.5 billion in revenue for Apple.

In a research note, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said he believes there's a 60 to 70 percent chance Apple will launch a lower-priced iPhone this year. He expects the the cheaper smartphone will feature a lower-quality screen and casing, as well as a potentially downgraded processor.

Munster predicts that Apple will charge nearly $200 for the off-contract phone "given Apple's history of commanding a premium to the market." The price would represent "a significant discount" when compared to the premium-priced current iPhones.

He added that if Apple launched the low-cost iPhone in September, it's likely to account for 30 percent of iPhone sales during 2013's fourth quarter. Munster believes if the proposed launch does occur, it would see the selling price of an iPhone decrease from $640 to around $520.

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iPhone Mini to Launch in 2014

smaller iPhone will take on Asian Markets

While Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) increased the size of the iPhone 5′s screen to 4-inches, yet another analyst says it will head in the opposite direction to take on Samsung in overseas markets, CNET notes. Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston has joined a number of other analysts arguing that Apple will look to compete with Samsung in emerging markets by releasing a cheaper iPhone. In order to reduce the new phone’s cost, Apple will reduce the size of its touchscreen. While other analysts have suggested that an iPhone Mini could debut as soon as this year, Mawson considers that unlikely. He anticipates that the smaller phone will be unveiled within the next three years, most likely in 2014. Will be a target to Indian and Chinese markets.

Alternate Choice: Despite a growing chorus of reports that Apple will partner with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE:TSM) to produce chips for its mobile devices, Forbes notes that many Silicon Valley experts increasingly expect it to tap Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) instead. Apple has been reportedly moving to reduce its dependence on Samsung as a manufacturing partner as the two companies have become global competitors in the mobile device market. Previous rumors have suggested the TSMC has begun preparing test runs to make Apple’s A6X mobile processors. However, MKM Partners analyst Daniel Berenbaum suggest that Intel is a more logical choice for the role since it’s greater chip-making capacity could allow it to act as an Apple chip foundry without the need for new capital investment. Rumors suggest that TSMC has been investing heavily to accommodate Apple’s anticipated orders. But Berenbaum says that TSMC’s chip-making capacity remains too restricted to meet Apple’s heavy demand.

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