iPhone 5S and a cheaper iPhone out this fall?

New Rumor from China: Apple iPhone 5S and cheaper version to both ship this August

On Thursday, we told you about a rumor out of Japan about the Apple iPhone 5S. According to this story, the device would be equipped with a 4.5 inch display and would sport a polycarbonate body. On back, a dual LED flash would allow users to snap better quality pictures under low-light conditions.

 Priced at $330, the phone was supposedly going to be launched sometime in 2014.           

 

That rumor lasted less than 24 hours. New speculation out of China, citing information from Barclay's Capital, suggests that the Apple iPhone 5S and a cheaper version of the iPhone will both be launched this August. The low priced model is expected to be built by both Foxconn and Pegatron while the former will be the exclusive manufacturing partner for the iPhone 5S.

The Apple iPhone 5S is said to be a world phone with possibly a Qualcomm chip inside that supports all LTE bands including China Mobile's proprietary pipeline. In the past, Apple did not offer a model of its smartphone for the world's largest carrier because of compatibility issues. But if this speculation is legitimate, Apple will finally be able to gain access to a huge number of potential iPhone buyers that numbers around 700 million people.

Rumours around an iPhone 5S and a cheaper iPhone show no signs of stopping. The latest bout comes from MacRumors which reports via Commerical Times from Taiwan quoting Barclays analyst Kirk Yang who has stated that Apple is indeed preparing both an iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone which could be out in August and September this year.

 

The report also stressed that Apple is currently examining the production volumes for both phones and is working out how much the lower phone will cannabilise into the sales of the iPhone 5S.

However the Japanese blog Macotakara had reported that the cheaper version of the iPhone would not be out till 2014.

       

While rumours around a cheaper iPhone sound great, remember Apple’s chief marketing officer, Phil Schiller had dismissed reports of one, saying, that “This is not a direction that we want to be heading in with our products.” Schiller’s comments are clear about Apple sticking to its policy of targeting a certain affluent sections of the population.

And there’s also the fact that a cheaper iPhone could canabilise the sales of the more expensive version. But as CEO Tim Cook, said in the 2013 Q1 investor, Apple doesn’t seem to have much of  a problem with that. (He was referring to the iPad canabilising Mac sales and eating into Windows PC sales as well.)

Even without a cheaper iPhone, Apple has managed to sell nearly 47.8 million in quarter one of 2013, and is the number two vendor as far smartphones go worldwide. This is a mammoth position for a device manufacturer that caters to a very limited segment and at a higher price.