According to RBC analyst Mike Abamsky, Apple will not be releasing a cheap iPhone 4S this year. Instead they’ll be making the iPhone 3GS free with a carrier contract, the iPhone 4 would be $99, and the iPhone 5 would come in at the $199/$299 price points. We weren’t going to run this one, considering analysts seem to be throwing darts these days, but it stands in direct contrast to news yesterday that Apple would be releasing both the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 in the next 12 months, cancelling the iPhone 4, and keeping the iPhone 3GS on the market.
If anything, this is an indicator that analysts may not be as well connected as most think. While there is some continuity between reports, like having three phones on the market at the same time (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 5), the details from one report to the next remain murky, at best. Again, both today’s report and yesterday’s report could be way off the mark when it comes to the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, and this is one of the reasons most try to avoid analyst prognostications in the first place.
There have been consistent reports that Apple is planning on expanding their iPhone lineup to include more phones to directly compete with Android; however, keeping the iPhone 3GS around may not be the best alternative. Currently there are free phones on the market that are leaps and bounds beyond the iPhone 3GS specification-wise. But, is Apple really after the savvy market if they decide to keep the iPhone 3GS on the market? Probably not. Instead they would be looking to round up all those people who know that the iPhone exists, but also know that they don’t really need the latest and greatest phone. A lot of people just want the best basic phone they can get their hands on, not a phone that has multitasking, AirPlay, or iCloud. For some, that’s overkill, and for them the iPhone 3GS might be the perfect alternative. If I was a betting man, I’d suggest there’s s a lot more of those people in the world than there are technology enthusiasts.
Do you think there’s room for three iPhones on the market? Would anyone even buy the three year old device? I know I’m heading straight for an iPhone 5 on release. As always, let us know down below.
Source: Business Insider
