Remember the rumored low cost iPhone, which was specially targeted at countries like China? Turns out it won’t be just a toned down version of the existing iPhone, instead Apple has indicated that it will launch a low cost iPhone when it has a category-killer experience.
This piece of information comes from RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky who had personally spoken to Apple’s top brass – COO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer.
Abramsky doesn’t directly quote Cook or Oppenheimer, instead he shares his own “takeaways” from this meeting. “Apple’s primary criterion for launching a lower-end iPhone is an innovative, category-killer experience,” he says. This of course isn’t a surprise, Apple has been widely known to completely disrupt a space which it newly enters into, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad are the best examples of this. This is however the first time, Apple executives have given a direct indication of a cheaper iPhone coming in the future.
The low end phone market has already been infiltrated by Android devices, some of these sell for as low as $150. It goes without saying that in a bid to minimize prices, manufacturers often steal away a decent user experience from consumers, bundle out dated versions of the OS, provide insufficient hardware et cetera. This is where Apple hopes to capitalize, its tight control over hardware and software could ensure that even low end phones have a good user experience. This is what Abramsky wrote in his notes which say:
“Despite an explosion of devices based on Google’s Android operating system, Apple can maintain a competitive advantage through its integration of hardware and software, and its curation of the application ecosystem”
If Apple does succeed in providing a good user experience at a cheap price point, which it most probably will, then consumers would definitely rush in hoards to buy the rumored cheaper iPhone. In the long term Apple would also want to integrate the SIM right into the phone, a move that could cut carriers out of the picture.
Other topics discussed included Apple’s ongoing patent disputes mostly against Android device manufacturers, which Abramsky tells will be settled very soon. He also predicts the rise of Apple stock above the $500 marks, and overall predicts a positive future for Apple.
What do you think could be the category-killer experience for a low-cost iPhone? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
[via Barrons]
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Source: Apple Won’t Launch Low-Cost iPhone Until It Has A Category-Killer Experience
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