Apple still remains the world's most valuable company, but the Cupertino giant has come under some fire recently for not being "cool" enough and there being less demand for the iPhone. How will Apple fire back? Many believe a low-cost iPhone will roll out in the second half of 2013, and a new rumor suggests it may use a plastic chassis made here in the United States.
Well-known tech-centric website Digitimes released a report in which unnamed supply chain sources revealed that Apple is interested in a moving away from a reinforced glass or unibody metal chassis in order to save costs.
"The rumor in the supply chain is that the inexpensive iPhone chassis supplier will reportedly be a US-based electronic manufacturing service (EMS) provider," DigiTimes writes.
The report then goes on to state that there's a possibility Apple may utilize a see-through chassis made of both plastic and metal that would give users a clear view of the iPhone's innards.
"The sources pointed out that the related upstream components for the entry-level iPhone are currently going through validation and the actual product may show up in the market in the second half of 2013," DigiTimes continues.
The late-2013 release date lines up with reports from both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
While nothing about a cheaper iPhone has been confirmed by Apple, it hasn't been denied either. Reports are now trickling out that Apple has cut back its orders for the iPhone 5, seen as a sign that demand is weakening. This, in turn, caused Apple shares to take a bit of a stumble. Many believe that Apple will need to offer more variety in its lineup in order to compete with the plethora of Android devices hitting the markets with far more frequency, and that a cheaper iPhone could be just the answer.