Rumors that swirl around the development of Apple’s new products are often exacerbated by its tight-lipped public relations policies. One persistent buzz has been about an impending release of a low-cost plastic iPhone to compete in Third World and lower-end markets.
And while all we had before was speculation, this video offers a glimpse of what appears to be the shell of that new plastic iPhone.
As reported by latimes.com:
“The 6.5-minute video called ‘New Low-Cost Plastic Apple iPhone: Sneak Peek’ gives users an extended look at and explanation of what is allegedly the back cover for the rumored iPhone.
Toward the end of the video, thanks are offered to a social media user for the plastic iPhone shell.
“The man in the video gives a shout-out to Sonny Dickson, thanking him for providing him with the plastic shell. That’s important because Dickson is a social-media user who is known for posting pictures of upcoming Apple devices, such as the iPad Mini, before they go on sale.”
Apple’s stock price has been doing well over the last few days after the company reported quarterly earnings.
What came as a surprise to investors was how well Apple was doing in the lower-end markets with their iPhone 4 and 4S models. That left many observers wondering if a low cost plastic iPhone is even necessary.
But as reported by the guardian.co.uk, there are a couple of reasons:
“Apple’s share of the smartphone market fell to about 17 percent in the most recent quarter. As the smartphone market expands, it needs to expand with it to keep pulling in users.
“And it needs those users because the phrase ‘Android first,’ if used by app developers, would strike terror into Apple executives’ hearts. The idea is beginning to form that as Android smartphone ownership grows in Europe and Asia, startups in those regions might begin to look at writing their app for that platform first, suggests Benedict Evans of Enders Analysis.”
These are compelling arguments and I would not be surprised to see the plastic iPhone released this fall.
