Phil Schiller downplays chances of cheaper iPhone
updated 02:44 pm EST, Thu January 10, 2013
Points to profit margins on current iPhone models
Apple's senior VP for worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller, appears to have dismissed the possibility of a cheaper iPhone in a new interview with the Shanghai Evening News. In the piece, he comments that "every product that Apple creates, we consider using only the best technology available. This includes the production pipeline, the Retina display, the unibody design, to provide the best product to the market."
"At first, non-smartphones were popular in the Chinese market, now cheap smartphones are more popular and non-smartphones are out," the executive continues. "Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products. In fact, although Apple’s market share of smartphones is just about 20%, we own the 75% of the profit."
Recent reports have revived claims that Apple is preparing a low-cost iPhone for later this year. Such a device could potentially solve problems with selling the iPhone in countries like China or India, where current-generation models can be prohibitively expensive. Apple, though, has seen some success by discounting older models, and has repeatedly insisted that it only targets a premium/luxury market.
