A new report claims that when Apple releases its rumored low-end iPhone, the smartphone will be available in multiple colors and will be released before the iPhone 5S. If this new information is to be believed, we could see the smartphone released next week at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
Apple has been rumored to be working on a low-cost iPhone to counter the myriad of low-cost Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry smartphones. The company has been focused on the high-end smartphone market since the introduction of the original iPhone and has always taken the approach of delivering the best smartphone to consumers, but that has always come with a more expensive price tag than its rivals. Apple has watched its market share in the smartphone world decline as companies like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and more, release high, mid-range, and low-end Android smartphones. Samsung is now the world's top selling smartphone maker for a reason - it has covered its bases by flooding the market with smartphones that are available at multiple price points.
It is believed that Apple has been urged by shareholders to begin offering a low-price iPhone that would appeal to more consumers, especially consumers who don't want to spend the entry level price for high-end iPhones and are left to choose between cheaper Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices. Apple has tried to address this by continuing to offer previous generation iPhones at lower price points but is now believed to be taking the approach of offering a "new" low-cost iPhone that will go head-to-head with its competitor's less expensive offerings.
The Street is reporting that Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White is calling Apple's low-end iPhone the iPhone mini and will be available in as many as five different colors. White also believes Apple will introduce the smartphone before it launches the iPhone 5S in September. He also goes on to reveal:
"Strangely enough and unrelated to the 'iPhone mini' with plastic casing, we had a discussion with a tech supply chain company around a 'lower-priced iPhone 5' that would be similar in look to the current iPhone 5 but with edges that are more rounded, a slightly thicker body, more color options and at a lower price."
If the report is to be believed we might see the low-cost IPhone unveiled at next week's WWDC 2012 event and Apple might be hinting at the multiple color low-cost iPhone in the WWDC 2013 logo and banners being hung at the Moscone Convention Center. There is what appears to be brightly colored iOS icons in blue, yellow, red, green and purple, which could be the five colors referred to in this report. However, as with all Apple rumors, it's always best to take the latest one with a grain of salt.
