Pundit Jim Dalrymple gives one of his usually terse “nope” verdicts on the rumor

May 29, 2014 09:11 GMT  ·  By

Less than a week before the start of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has a last-minute prediction to dish out to whomever is willing to listen and bet on the company accordingly. His latest insight is Apple launching cheaper versions of the iPhone 5s and iMac.

Despite being immediately shot down by well-connected pundit Jim Dalrymple with one of his usual yep/nope verdicts, we’ll be sharing the tidbit with you nonetheless, just in case there’s a chance it actually materializes.

Kuo, who works for investment bank KGI Securities and has a few solid sources himself, issued an investor note yesterday predicting price cuts in the iPhone and iMac lines. The announcement would be made at WWDC (June 2), and the reasoning behind at least one of the price cuts is the dampening growth in the PC market.

“However, as the PC market remains sluggish, we revise down our 2014 iMac shipments forecast from 4.8mn units to 4.0-4.5mn units, even though we think a cheaper iMac can boost shipments,” Kuo wrote.

Of note, Kuo doesn’t necessarily forecast a price reduction for the iMac, but merely suggests that Apple could get back on track by slashing a few dollars off the retail price. However, his other prediction – an 8GB iPhone 5s being announced next week – is just as unlikely.

Kuo believes that, in the wake of Apple preparing its iPhone 6 announcement, an 8GB version of the iPhone 5s could help maintain cash flow as customers are now inclined to save their money to grab the next-gen version when it comes out.

Neither of the two predictions will materialize, according to Jim Dalrymple, who has a near-flawless track record on Apple rumors and is known to be very well connected. Giving the rumor his “nope” verdict, the pundit basically shot down every chance of these announcements being made at WWDC.

Perhaps it’s also worth noting that Apple has recently started selling an 8GB version of the cheaper, plastic-made iPhone 5c in several countries around the world. The model is notably absent from key markets like the United States, where customers have more buying power and generally opt for the 5s.

iPhone 6 is expected to come out at the end of summer, around August-September. Two models are said to be planned, one with a 4.7-inch screen, the other featuring a phablet-grade 5.5-inch display.