In a conference with RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer and Chief Technology Officer Tim Cook hinted the company’s intent of entering the low-end smartphone market. They said that the company is aiming to provide a “killer” experience in the budget smartphone category. Rumor has it that Apple will be launching a lower priced iPhone model when it makes its yearly update for its smartphone line this year.
A lot of people have suggested that the continued increase of prepaid phones is a valid reason for the Cupertino tech giant to enter the lower-priced smartphone market.
Apple seems to be confident that if they decide to release a cheaper iPhone, it will change the whole category in that market segment. The prepaid mobile phone market consists of “two-thirds of the world’s 1.5 billion mobile customers,” which presents a huge selling opportunity for Apple’s low-priced iPhone.
The company has been doing well in selling devices at prices below of those of its competitors (with regard to the cost of manufacturing). This was the case with the Apple iPad tablet, which was the cheapest tablet to make in a market that consisted of a number of inferior devices.
The main reason behind this move is the company’s monopoly over the supply chain for parts required to make these devices. Experts believe that this will enable Apple to manufacture low cost smartphones that will still have better performance to similarly priced Android smartphones.
If Apple did release an iPhone for the budget market, would you buy it over other devices?
via: Ubergizmo
