Talking about an iPhone before it launches, or even before Apple officially confirms that a new iPhone is coming isn’t new to the market. In fact, it’s been a pretty common and expected practice ever since there was an iPhone to talk about. Rumors and speculation regarding the device are common stock just a few months before the new iPhone is rumored to launch, so the fact we are hearing so much about the new iPhone or the release of a “cheaper” iPhone isn’t a surprise at all. As we get closer to September, the commonly believed month where the new iPhone will be unveiled, more and more rumors will be tossed out, and more and more people will scratch their heads in wonderment about what’s to come. Of course, it doesn’t help that there are so many contradictory rumors out there.
And this latest one just adds more wood to the fire. I could be wrong here, but it seems to me that this year’s expected iPhone launch is being literally weighed down by all of the rumors this time around. It isn’t so much that we’re running low on them, but it’s more to the fact that there are just so many rumors contradicting ones we’ve heard previously.
This latest rumor pounds a few points home, though. At this point, the general consensus seems to believe that Apple will be launching two “new” iPhones this year. One of them will be legitimately new, while the other will be something between a mix of new and old. Well, actually, that could go both ways. The new iPhone may be just an iPhone 4 with better specifications. Or it could be a completely different device.
The main takeaway of the new rumor isn’t necessarily that the new iPhone will come out at the end of August (which isn’t September), or the fact that it doesn’t say anything about the body of the device. The main part of the new rumor is that the cheaper iPhone that is rumored to be launched by the Cupertino-based company will actually be the iPhone 3GS. A phone that quite dated by now. So, yes, it would be worth the cheaper price tag sans contract, but I think people will be more disappointed than anything else if Apple just re-launches the iPhone 3GS, so to speak.
People are expecting a new, cheap iPhone. If anything, people want the iPhone 4 to be the cheap option. However, it’s hinted that the iPhone 4 may be the mid-range device, with the iPhone 4S/5 taking the top spot, and the iPhone 3GS filling in the bottom. I don’t think this is the way that Apple should handle this. After all, it’s not like the iPhone 3GS is impossible to get right now. The device is super cheap on AT&T’s network (with a contract), and finding a 3GS from a private seller without a hefty price tag may not be all that impossible in some areas of the country.
But it does make sense for Apple to come up with a cheaper option for customers. In fact, having three different devices readily available for customers, whether they want a contract or not, is a great way to make sure that Apple stays relevant in the mobile market (as if they needed any help with that). Apple’s main competition from Google isn’t just about the mobile OS, but it’s also about the fact that Android is available on many different handsets, ranging the gauntlet of prices. With three devices, all of which are catered to a different price point, Apple could once again make some major headway in the market.
But, I think it would be better for Apple if they decided to actually make a low-cost iPhone, and not just brand the iPhone 3GS as that option from this point on. People want new and affordable. Unless they provide the same body as the iPhone 3GS but update the specifications inside, I don’t see the iPhone 3GS doing exactly what Apple wants done here.
Where do you stand on these rumors? Should Apple launch a low-cost iPhone? Should that device be the iPhone 3GS? Or should Apple work on actually manufacturing a new, low-cost device? Let me know in the comments below what you think.
