“Apple has run out of the kinds of operators that will say yes to them”

May 6, 2013 08:38 GMT  ·  By

It has become increasingly apparent that Apple needs a cheaper version of the iPhone, whether it likes it or not. Almost every analyst cited in a new story by Bloomberg sings the same tune.

By introducing a “budget” iPhone, Apple would sacrifice profit margins in exchange for increased market share.

There are roughly 2 billion potential buyers in Asia alone, but operators in the Far East are beginning to say “no” to the terms put forth by the Cupertino, California tech giant.

Bloomberg reports that new carriers must meet stringent requirements, “such as guaranteeing a minimum sales tally, as well as the price of the phone, currently above $600 before subsidies.”

According to Horace Dediu, a former in-house analyst for Nokia and chief of Asymco.com, “The narrative has been focused on the consumer demand, and the narrative needs to shift to the operator.”

“Apple has run out of the kinds of operators that will say yes to them,” he says, adding that the company’s expensive iPhones have “one value proposition for consumers and another one for operators.”

Walter Piecyk, a technology analyst at BTIG LLC, is in the same boat with Deidu. He believes that, “The carriers that haven’t gotten the iPhone are in markets that need a lower-priced phone.”

“A $600 phone doesn’t cut it for 80 percent of the wireless market that is prepaid -- you’re talking about people with monthly bills of $10 to $11,” he says.

Various other analysts think the same. And most rumors point to a low-end iPhone launching this year.

Bloomberg notes that, “Apple has been developing a lower-end iPhone that may be introduced as early as this year,” citing people familiar with the company’s work.

It isn’t clear when exactly this low-end iPhone will launch, but it will, analysts say.