14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that rumors of an impending iPhone 4S release will not be put to rest, with new reports now claiming that Apple is launching a downgraded version of the iPhone 4 within weeks.
Although the 4S moniker would actually translate into an upgrade of the existing hardware, rather than a strip-down of the handset’s features, reports indicate that an 8GB version of the iPhone 4 will be launching in a matter of weeks.
Quoted by high-profile news agencies and picked up by technology blogs and websites worldwide, two people with an alleged knowledge of Apple’s short-term plans have said that the 8GB flash drive for this cheap iPhone 4 is being manufactured by a Korean company which they declined to name.
One such Korean company currently supplying Apple with Flash NAND drives is none other than Samsung Electronics. The makers of the Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets are also tasked with crafting the A4 and A5 chips powering Apple’s iOS devices.
Another supplier of solid state memory for Apple is Japanese chip maker Toshiba.
According to the people who are purportedly privy to Apple’s plans, this 8GB low-end iPhone 4 will be released shortly, whereas the iPhone 5 will see an end-September launch.
A handful of analysts still believe Apple will profit off the introduction of a cheaper iPhone, mostly in emerging markets.
Yuanta Securities analyst Bonnie Chang picked up on the story, noting that “Apple may want to push into the emerging market segment where customers want to switch to low- to mid-end smartphones from high-end feature phones, which usually cost $150-200.”
“But I think for an 8GB iPhone 4 the price is hard to go below $200, so Apple will still need a completely new phone with low specifications for the emerging markets,” added Chang.