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Remember that story that said cheapness “will never be the future of Apple products“? The one that quoted Apple marketing supremo Phil Schiller in The Shanghai Evening News? Well it turns out to be wrong, as Schiller was either misquoted, or never said any such thing. The Chinese newspaper has updated its story, and at Apple’s request, no less.
There are subtle but important changes in the article, Reuters reports. So let’s take a look, and keep our fingers crossed a wallet-friendly Apple blower comes our way soon.
The original article quoted Schiller as saying, “Despite the popularity of cheap smart phones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products.” And the revised version? Apple aims to provide “the best products” and “will never blindly pursue market share”.
“Best” is a pretty subjective term, and could well mean value for money — the Nexus 4 is one of the best smart phones of the last year, and price plays a huge part in that. Saying Apple won’t “blindly pursue” market share means it won’t try to flog as many phones as possible at all costs, but not that it won’t take measures to try to sell more devices overall.
In short: a budget iPhone, or iPhone mini, could still be on the cards.
A cheaper iPhone would be quite a change of strategy for Apple, which sells pricey products. But it might be forced into it, with competition from Android undercutting it. A more affordable iPhone 5S could arrive as soon as this year, in a cheaper plastic casing than its fancier bigger brother. A polycarbonate shell would match the Nokia Lumia 920 for looks. Or Apple could launch an iPhone mini, which analysts reckon is inevitable if it wants to keep up with the likes of Samsung in terms of market share.
Do you think Apple will launch a cheaper iPhone, along the lines of the iPad mini? Or would it cheapen the iPhone name? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
