It's quite clear that Apple will be bolstering its iPhone lineup in 2013 with more colors, sizes, and price options but a new Bloomberg report gets even more specific. It seems that Apple is planning on releasing a low-cost iPhone between the price range of $99 and $149 sometime in the second half of 2013.
"Apple, which had been working on a more affordable smartphone since at least February 2011, is weighing retail prices of $99 to $149 for a device that would debut in late 2013, at the earliest, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apple has spoken to at least one of the top U.S. wireless carriers about its plans, the [source] said yesterday," Bloomberg writes.
Bloomberg doesn't state whether that price is subsidized or unsubsidized, and bases its report off an unnamed "person familiar" with Apple's plans. An earlier report from The Wall Street Journal also states that Apple has plans for a cheap iPhone.
"The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body, one of the people said. One possibility Apple has considered is lowering the cost of the device by using a different shell made of polycarbonate plastic; in contrast, the iPhone 5 currently has an aluminum housing," reads The Wall Street Journal report.
Website DigiTimes adds that the low-cost iPhone's display could be 5-inches in order to provide a large Apple option to counter the increasingly massive Android lineup.
While the low-cost iPhone won't be hitting shelves until late 2013, Apple is also expected to release a new iPhone sometime in the first half of 2013 as well. Most analysts agree that it will be offered in a variety of colors and in different sizes.
Would you hold out for a cheaper, low-end iPhone?
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
