iPhone 5C
Cheaper iPhone coming on September 10
What We Expect
The new iPhones will be announced at an Apple media event on September 10, with availability in the United States and other first-wave countries expected around September 20.
We expect that Apple will be releasing two new iPhone models to
succeed the currently shipping iPhone 5. The first will be a direct
replacement and be known as the "iPhone 5S". The other model will likely
be called the "iPhone 5C" and represents a new, cheaper model. This
roundup covers our expectations of the iPhone 5C, while our iPhone 5S roundup goes into the details of that model.
The iPhone 5C represents a long rumored "cheap" iPhone model. In the
past, when Apple introduced a new iPhone, it would drop the price of
the previous models and continue selling them alongside the latest
release. This new iPhone 5C would presumably change up that strategy
and fall in the middle of the lineup, possibly where the iPhone 4S
currently sits at $99 (with contract).
The new phone is set to arrive with a plastic rear shell available in
multiple colors, with yellow, blue, red, green, and white seemingly the
options to be offered by Apple. The array of bright color options for
the iPhone 5C will help differentiate the device from the traditional
black and white (and perhaps champagne) colors of the iPhone 5S.
Little in the way of specifics on the device's internals has been
leaked, but the iPhone 5C is expected to essentially be an iPhone 5
wrapped in the new plastic shell. Those specs would include an A6 chip,
4-inch Retina display, 8-megapixel rear camera, and 1.2-megapixel front
camera.
Pricing estimates have come in from various sources within a range of
$300 to $500 or more, with the most likely price point being in the
$400-$500 range when purchased without a service contract. As a comparison, the current iPhone sells for $649-$849 without contract.
In More Detail
While rumors of a cheaper iPhone have circulated for a number of years, chatter began to ramp up in January 2013 when The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported that Apple was indeed making progress on plans for a lower-cost iPhone and that it could launch as soon as this year.
The Wall Street Journal indicated that it could be largely similar to the iPhone 5 but with a plastic shell, while Bloomberg indicated the device could be smaller than the iPhone 5.
"Today’s work is to paste protective film on the iPhone’s
plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines.
This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the
market by Apple."
Anonymous Pegatron Employee - July 9, 2013
Amid fears that this lower-cost iPhone could see Apple sacrificing
quality in order to achieve a desired price point, Apple marketing chief
Phil Schiller was quoted in an interview with the Shanghai Evening News as saying that Apple would always use "only the best technology available".
There was considerable confusion, however, as to whether Schiller was
speaking specifically about the possibility of a cheaper iPhone or if
his comments were more generally addressing Apple's product development
philosophy. This confusion led Reuters to retract its original coverage after the Shanghai Evening News altered its article to point toward the latter scenario.
Days later, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek issued a report claiming that Apple's lower-cost iPhone "looks close to being greenlit or may already have been".
Misek's report was quickly followed by another from relatively reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who laid out his roadmap
for Apple's 2013 product launches. Kuo indicated that the lower-cost
iPhone would essentially be a repackaged iPhone 5, carrying nearly
identical specs with the exception of the new plastic shell adding some
thickness and weight to the device, six color options, a higher-capacity
battery, and new support for the TD-SCDMA standard used by China
Mobile, the world's largest carrier.
The Name
Apple's lower-cost iPhone had been rumored for years, and even well
into 2013 the device was simply referred to as a "lower-cost" or
"cheaper" iPhone. But in the closing days of July, a photo posted to Chinese site WeiPhone
claimed to show a bin full of plastic iPhone boxes carrying an "iPhone
5C" name. While there were some initial questions about the legitimacy
of the image, additional sources weighed in to support the claim that
Apple is planning to call the device by that name.
Among the corroborating claims was one from Mac Otakara,
which claimed that the lower-cost iPhone would indeed be called the
"iPhone 5C", with the "C" designation presumably referring to the
various color options.
Design
In a wide-ranging January report, iLounge's
Jeremy Horwitz revealed that the rumored lower-cost iPhone was indeed
in Apple's plans for 2013, with Apple focusing on using the device to
lower the cost of entry as it expands iPhone availability to China
Mobile. In a follow-up report
just a few days later, Horwitz claimed that the lower-cost iPhone
design would be a mix of the iPhone 5 and iPod touch, while taking on
some of the rear curves of the iPod classic.
More details on the iPhone 5C's rear shell appeared from Ming-Chi Kuo in March. According to Kuo,
the device would use a "super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass
fiber" to allow for a stronger, thinner, and lighter casing than seen on
other plastic smartphones.
By June, cases for the lower-cost iPhone began surfacing, revealing the rumored slightly thicker form factor and curvier rear edges than the iPhone 5. Just days later, design drawings
from a case maker offered more concrete expectations for the dimensions
and profile of the lower-cost iPhone, revealing it to be just a
fraction of a millimeter larger than the iPhone 5/5S in all dimensions
in order to account for the thicker plastic shell.
With the window for Apple's launch of new iPhone models rapidly
approaching in late August, continued leaks of the rear shells for the
iPhone 5C led to a report from Taiwanese news site Apple Daily sharing how it had subjected the part to several tests, including a scratch test
that the part passed with no visible damage. The shell was also
measured with a digital caliper, finding it to be essentially in
agreement with previously leaked measurements.
Colors
The most talked-about feature for the iPhone 5C has long been its
rear shell, both for its plastic construction and the color options that
will mark a distinct change for the iPhone lineup. Ming-Chi Kuo's
initial "roadmap" report in January indicated that the iPhone 5C could
be available in six colors, offering the first significant hint of the
upcoming shift in Apple's plans for the look of the iPhone. Kuo later scaled back that claim to a range of 4-6 colors.
The first photo evidence of a plastic-backed iPhone showed up in April when case manufacturer Tactus posted a photo
of a plastic rear shell in white showing the curved rear edges and
pill-shaped volume buttons along the side of the casing. The report also
claimed that the device would be available in black, white, blue, red,
and yellow and have only a 3.5-inch display, contradicting other rumors
of a 4-inch display. The site also claimed an October 15 launch date
with pricing around $300, although those details were considered
difficult to put any faith in at the time.
Specs
Rumors about the specs of the iPhone 5C have been fairly scant, with
most observers operating under the assumption that the device will
essentially be an iPhone 5 repackaged into a new plastic rear shell. As a
result, most reports have taken an A6 chip, 4-inch Retina display, and
an 8-megapixel rear camera as givens for the device. There have,
however, been some claims at odds with those rumors and assumptions,
which we haven't been able to entirely reconcile.
In January, a report
from analysts at Detwiler Fenton claimed that Apple was likely to use a
Qualcomm Snapdragon chip for the lower-cost iPhone, due to cost savings
and simplification available by incorporating Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
support into the device's main chip. The claim seemed at odds, however,
with Apple's years-long effort to develop its own optimized chips for
its iOS devices.
Claims of Apple using Qualcomm Snapdragon chips in the lower-cost iPhone were revived in early March with a report from China Times
claiming that Apple had struck a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to produce the chips. According to the report,
Apple could take advantage of Snapdragon chips supporting only 3G
technology in order to save money on the lower-cost device.
Early claims from Ming-Chi Kuo and others of a Retina display for the iPhone 5C were disputed
in late March by RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani, who
claimed that supply chain checks had revealed the device would have a
non-Retina 4-inch display and a plastic casing.
iPhone 5S vs 5C predicted comparison chart from Ming-Chi Kuo
A blurry photo
of an alleged rear camera for the iPhone 5C eventually surfaced
alongside claims that the device will use a similar 8-megapixel sensor
to that used in the iPhone 5. As with the iPhone 5, the camera would be
protected by a sapphire cover for durability. That part later appeared,
however, alongside claims that it was for the iPhone 5S, so the
legitimacy of the original photo and claims remains somewhat in
question.
Less than a month before the expected introduction of the iPhone 5C, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted
that Apple would exclude some software features such as Siri from the
iPhone 5C as a means of differentiating the device from the flagship
iPhone 5S model. The prediction seemed to make little sense, as Apple
has been heavily promoting Siri and it is currently supported on the
iPhone 4S offered as a lower-cost option to the iPhone 5.
And with just days to go before the unveiling, alleged photos
of the device's logic board surfaced, although shielding covering most
of the components did not allow much information about the hardware to
be determined.
Price
Early claims from Ming-Chi Kuo had pinpointed an unsubsidized price range of $350-$450 for the iPhone 5C, with a number of other reports offering similar predictions over the following months.
Analysts from J.P. Morgan laid out their case
in mid-May for Apple positioning the new plastic iPhone as a "mid-end"
device in the $350-$400 range, a segment of the market where there are
few competitors. Targeting this segment would seem to give Apple a
wide-open field while also allowing the company to avoid having to
sacrifice much on the quality front.
A Reuters report
from June indicated that Apple had been considering a $99 price point
for the iPhone 5C, undoubtedly referring to a subsidized price with a
two-year service contract in the United States. That pricing would be in
line with the current iPhone 4S, priced $100 cheaper than the
entry-level iPhone 5 at $199 on contract.
Expected off-contract pricing for the iPhone 5C began to creep up by late July, with Ming-Chi Kuo revising his estimates to put the device at a range of $450-$550.
A set of high-resolution photos
of the iPhone 5C rear shell surfaced in early August alongside claims
that the device would be priced at 3000 yuan or approximately $490 off
contract.
With the iPhone 5C having long been rumored as being targeted in
large part at emerging markets where carrier subsidies are rare and
iPhone prices of $650 and above are out of reach for many consumers, a report from Morgan Stanley
shared survey data revealing that an iPhone 5C priced even up to $500
could attract a significant portion of Chinese smartphone buyers.
Combining the iPhone 5C with a launch on China Mobile could drive Apple
to become the most popular smartphone manufacturers in the country's
larger cities. The survey data also suggested that Apple could get away
with not offering LTE support for the iPhone 5C in China, as the faster
data networks have yet to see widespread deployment, although LTE
support could be considered an important feature in other countries
around the world.
Timing
Initial reports from The Wall Street Journal and others
indicated that the iPhone 5C could appear "as soon as" 2013, with most
reports suggesting that it would appear alongside or around the time of
the launch of a new iPhone 5S.
In August, AllThingsD reported that Apple would be holding an iPhone media event on September 10,
2013. The report did not specifically claim that the event would see
the introduction of both the iPhone 5S and 5C, but prevailing rumors
have suggested that the two devices will be introduced at the same time.
The September 10 date was quickly corroborated by iMore's Rene Ritchie, and two days later the date was all but confirmed by the well-connected Jim Dalrymple.
Just over a week later, a report from Japanese business newspaper Nikkei
claimed that the iPhone 5S and 5C would be launching in that country on
Friday, September 20. The claim is in line with Apple's previous
debuts, which have typically seen new hardware launching in the first
wave of markets approximately a week and half after their introduction.
Also supporting the idea of a near-imminent release for the iPhone 5C was a leaked photo
said to show dozens of iPhone 5C units being tested at Apple's assembly
partner Pegatron. The photo was apparently posted by a woman who began
working in the company's quality control department in mid-July.
Finally, with under two weeks to go before Apple's event, a number of photos showing packaged iPhone 5C units and instructional inserts began surfacing, with shipments of the device reportedly already making their way to the United States.
As for Apple's broader plans for the entire iPhone lineup, a mid-August report from Ming-Chi Kuo
claimed that the iPhone 5C would likely arrive as a replacement for the
iPhone 5, rather than a lower-cost option to be offered below the
iPhone 5S and 5. According to Kuo, Apple surprisingly plans to continue
selling the iPhone 4S and perhaps even the iPhone 4 following the
introduction of the iPhone 5S and 5C, offering even lower price points
for budget consumers but without the latest features such a 4-inch
display, Lightning connector, and LTE support.
(by http://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-5c/)
By IphoneUnlock PT na sua continua ajuda á comunidade iPhone user em Portugal!
Se gostou do Post veja também a nossa página de Facebook e clique gosto!ou like!
.png "English"){kind=small}
