News have been circulating that Apple will release its new iPhone 5 in September, or the company will release an upgraded version of the iPhone 4. However, Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore says that the company plans to release both.
Whitmore said: “With Nokia and RIMM struggling, the time is right for Apple to aggressively penetrate the mid range smart-phone market to dramatically expand its [total addressable market] and market share.”
Whitmore believes that the iPhone 4S will come in pre-paid and will be an unlocked model.
Rumors of a cheaper iPhone has been circulating online since February, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the new iPhone will cost half the price of the iPhone 4. The Apple iPhone 4S will cost around £220 and will target the pre-paid user market.
A cheaper iPhone launch will compliment the skimming and versioning pricing strategy of Apple. The company has applied this pricing strategy to its iPod products. A report by Fortune said that “Whitmore does not cite any sources or claim any inside knowledge for his two-iPhone theory.”
However, Katy Huberty, an analyst from Morgan Stanley, predicts that the company will only release one phone this year, which will start its production in “mid to late August.” Huberty, who just returned from Taiwan, where a number of Apple equipment is produced, said that the new iPhone 5 will go on sale in September.
Is it the right move for Apple to launch two iPhones this September?
via: Telegraph
