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March 17, 2014

New, Cheap iPhone 5C May Launch March 18

While the iPhone line is an impressive sales juggernaut by most any standard, especially once all the sales are considered from the various lines that comprise the breed, the iPhone 5C has, by some reports, not been faring so well. But a new report to emerge suggests that the brand may get a bit of a shot in the arm thanks to a further scaled-down iPhone 5C that may ultimately launch very soon.

The reports are based on documents leaked from O2 Germany, and suggest that Apple is looking to bring out a new iPhone 5C very specifically geared to the budget market. The O2 Germany reports note that the new iPhone 5C will pack only eight gigabytes of onboard storage, but will sell at €60 (about $83.52) under the 16 gigabyte version. Since the current reports are coming out of Germany—easily one of Europe's biggest markets—that suggests that a wider launch is likely to follow, or potentially be in the works right now with Germany as a part of the whole. Packaging has even been spotted for the eight gigabyte version of the iPhone 5C, meaning that a complete launch shouldn't be far behind.

Naturally, such speculation raises questions, particularly in regard to the iPhone 4S, now regarded as the lowest-tier model in Apple's release arsenal. Given that some providers are offering iPhone 4S systems at no cost with a two-year contract, it's enough to make some wonder if the iPhone 4S will find itself thrown over for this new low-tier model. What's more, others are asking if selling this new iPhone is just a matter of “too little, too late” as a phone that represents an $83 savings over the 16 gigabyte alternative may not be that big a draw, especially when the last version is going for free.

This may spell an end to access of free iPhone 4S models with a contract—which makes some sense; why continue to allow a phone to go out the door for the price of a contract when there's a whole product line that was supposed to be for the “budget-minded” segment to begin with?--or it may not have much impact on that line at all. Plus, if Apple's newest iPhone is a further trimmed-down iPhone 5C, what does that say about potential release for the iPhone 6? Is the iPhone line really running out of innovative tracks besides slim down, drop features, and drop the price tag a bit? Or is Apple just trying to get the last little bit out of the market ahead of a new launch? It would make sense to have several breeds of iPhone 5C ready to go in the face of a launch of the iPhone 6; the scaled-down iPhone 5C might well take the place of the iPhone 4S in the “free-with-contract” field.

This may also prove a cause for concern from some Apple watchers, but then there's always something to be said for covering all the bases. The full release of this product will likely tell the whole story of what's going on with Apple and whether there's cause to be concerned or not. Still, it's not a bad idea, though it may not ultimately work how Apple hoped it might.




Edited by Alisen Downey


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