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Apple could be cooking up a dirt-cheap iPhone that would be perfectly at home in Action Man’s attack helicopter, if fresh rumours are to be believed.
The rumoured budget iPhone is going to be made mostly from plastic, iLounge reports, citing “reliable sources”. Take any Apple rumours with a pinch or two of salt, but the article does detail purported design details for the mythical wallet-friendly phone.
The Barbie Girl-blower is reckoned to borrow from past Apple gadgets, including a front plate that sticks out just a little from the phone’s frame, à la the most recent iPod touch and iPhone 5.
The volume buttons will ditch a circular shape in favour of a squashed pill-shape style, the report claims, while a gently curved back will apparently evoke the blocky rear of the iPod classic. The headphone port is hinted to be stuck on the bottom of the phone.
Cheaper phones are usually less skinny and luxurious to grip than high-end smart phones, though the ‘budget’ iPhone is tipped to be just half a millimetre taller and wider than the iPhone 5, and a millimetre thicker. The iPhone 5 is eerily thin, so any mobile that can echo those slender dimensions would get a thumbs up from me.
Word of a cheap iPhone or ‘iPhone mini’ have been swirling recently — the theory being that Apple wants to capture the cash of would-be customers worldwide who can’t afford the £500-plus iPhone 5.
Rival Samsung has a smart phone for every budget, so Apple may be looking to steal that slice of pie from the South Korean company. A recent article that saw Apple’s Phil Schiller ruling out cheap products was updated to say that Apple merely aims to provide “the best products”, giving hope to those lusting for an affordable iPhone.
Would you buy a cheap plastic iPhone, or should Apple stick with its pricey metal and glass gadgets? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
