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Rich Fanboi, Poor Fanboi–Apple Mulls Upside of Going Down-Market

February 28, 2011 at 11:22 am PT

Apple doesn’t have a smaller iPhone in its product pipeline, but it may well have a cheaper one. Certainly that seems to be COO Tim Cook’s implication in an interview with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi making the rounds today.

The iPhone isn’t intended “just for the rich,” Cook said, remarking that Apple has some “clever things” planned to address the prepaid market and has no intention of ceding any smartphone market share to rivals. Add to this some related comments about the company’s focus on carrier expansion, particularly in poorer countries, and it’s pretty clear that Apple is developing a more affordable iPhone.

Just what sort of form it will take isn’t clear, though Sacconaghi suggests it may be a combination of less expensive hardware and better carrier rates, or even a move to disintermediate carriers with a soft-SIM.

Tagged with: Apple, Bernstein, cheaper iPhone, digital, hardware, innovation, iPhone, John Paczkowski, soft-SIM, Toni Sacconaghi

comments so far. Add yours.

Anonymous

The only way Apple can afford to do this is if they are getting a cut of the service fees. (Is that what the soft-SIM would support?)

Thompson
Chris

Before anyone posts “they already offer a cheep one. Its the 3Gs” We are talking about a NEW MODEL. Not a two year old one.
Anonymous

Apple already makes a cheap iPhone in the iPod touch, which is only $229 (unsubsidized of course) with FaceTime, Retina Display, 8GB, and iOS. They already sell 10 million per quarter. That hasn’t broken the bank or anything.

The iPod and iPhone lines have been merging steadily, with iPod touch and even iPod nano gaining more and more iPhone features each generation. What is left for this year other than adding 3G? Once they do that, they have a complete line of iPhones. They already sell pocket devices from $49 to $699, so it is just a matter of adding features.

If you look at the new iPod nano, it is really more of an iPod shuffle with a screen. The candy bar nano has gone missing. If you imagine a candy bar nano with a full-face touchscreen, that could be a hell of a feature phone.