The interest in the iPhone 6 (or the iPhone 5S, depending on who you talk to), won’t be stopping anytime soon. There’s speculation that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also release a low cost iPhone, a.k.a. the iPhone Lite, and one site now says that in the long run, the high-end iPhone will be the less expensive choice.
Although there has been at least one report saying that the iPhone 6 might, in fact, be the low-cost version or the iPhone Lite, most refer to the iPhone 6 as being the next flagship phone. As such, for the purposes of this article, the iPhone 6 is Apple’s flagship.
iPhone Lite Aiming At Younger Crowd
Gotta Be Mobile’s Chuong Nguyen believes that the iPhone 6 or 5S, or whatever the next flagship phone is called, will be less expensive than the iPhone Lite. The case is made for fashion as being the reason the iPhone Lite will end up being more expensive, but I don’t buy it and I don’t think others will either.
The author points out that rumors of multiple candy colors being offered in the iPhone Lite and not the flagship model may indicate that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may be attempting to reach out to the younger, hipper crowd, while gearing the flagship iPhone 6 toward the business crowd.
Some have said that the company is losing out on this crowd because it doesn’t offer any customization options. Studies indicate that the lack of different screen sizes, varying price points and different models each with their own features could be damaging the way the younger crowd sees Apple. Adding different colors and a low-cost iPhone may be just what the doctor ordered.
Also there is growing evidence that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is trying to expand into the highly coveted and extremely profitable enterprise sector. In order to reach both sides of the coin, it will have to do something because one size no longer fits all.
Why The iPhone 6 May Be Less Expensive… Or Not
While customization is certainly a problem for Apple, Gotta Be Mobile notes that fashion changes quite rapidly and says that this is why the iPhone Lite will end up being more expensive than the iPhone 6. While pink may be the hot color right now, blue might be the new pink in a few months’ time. So the site suggests that users might go through several colors in the iPhone Lite, thus raising the cost of ownership of the supposedly less expensive device.
Meanwhile the iPhone 6, which has been said to come in the standard black and white colors and possibly gold as well, offers neutrality of color and thus, remains relevant in terms of fashion for a longer period of time. So the fashion-conscious iPhone user may dole out $400 for the low-end handset not once, but two or more times during a two-year phone cycle, compared to the one-time cost of about $650 for the iPhone 6.
Fashion And The iPhone 6
So is fashion beginning to cross over into electronic hardware? There’s a good chance that it is, but I don’t know whether the color of the phone will cause iPhone Lite users to swap out their device multiple times per year or even multiple times over a two-year contract. Obviously those who are cost-conscious won’t do this, so this is a segment that the iPhone Lite will address which the iPhone 6 won’t.
Also if Apple is marketing the iPhone Lite to kids and young adults, it’s important to ask who will be doling out the cash for it. In the case of kids, of course it’s the parents shelling out the cash, and I don’t see parents buying their kids multiple iPhones just so they can have different colors.
And with the wide variety in cases that are available today, I would even further reduce the chances of color being the reason iPhone Lite users change their devices more often. It’s much cheaper to drop $20 on a new case instead of spending $400 on an entirely new phone just because the color isn’t hip any longer.
