Apple Needs to Sell Cheaper Stuff, Says Detwiler Fenton

Analysts at Detwiler Fenton believe Apple is indeed creating a cheap iPhone for the masses and they think there’s a chance it will be built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, according to Forbes.

The firm said in a research note today, “It is likely that the work with QCOM is being driven by AAPL’s concern regarding maintaining gross margins as well as the need to differentiate the product by performance.”

In other words, this bunch thinks Apple might be in serious trouble soon, if they don’t roll out a cheap iPhone that everyone can afford.

However, they also believe Apple will build less value into this product, so that the rich will continue to grab the more expensive models. The low-end device will be powered by a Qualcomm chip called “Snapdragon,” the firm says.

“AAPL would not want a value priced iPhone to offer the same kind of graphics and video support, processing power etc. that its premium priced device would, therefore a less powerful lower-end Snapdragon integrated solution would help segment the product,” Detwiler Fenton wrote.

Needless to point out, this goes against Apple’s entire philosophy.

Just a quick note to the folks at Detwiler Fenton. The iPad mini may be smaller and cheaper than the bigger iPads, but it doesn’t offer less value. If anything, it’s even better than the bigger iPads on quite a few levels. See our hands-on with the thing.