Is Apple about unleash a cheaper 8GB iPhone 5C? O2 'leak' suggests: Yes

An Apple iPhone 5C with 8GB of storage is rumored to emerge this week, according to reports and a leaked photo. A German-language blog obtained an internal email to staff at mobile network O2 in the Euro nation to support the claims: the leaked memo describes a new addition to the iPhone 5C family, specifically a handset …

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple doesn't do cheap.

You can just see the process now.

1. Reduce iPhone specs by half to reduce price by half.

2. Compare against rivals.

3. Worry about reviews and then increase the specs.

4. Increase the price to reflect upgraded specs.

5. Increase specs to make use of components and design elements from last years phone.

6. Increase price to reflect increased specs.

Finished. Oh it's only £50 cheaper than this years high end phone, oops.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now isnt that Revolutionary ?

IS the process patented yet?

Have the fanbois bent down yet ?

[bazza]

Millions of unsold 5c's re-badged, storage size firmware frig

Just guessing. But it would be a way to get rid of them...

[Tiweh]

Re: Millions of unsold 5c's re-badged, storage size firmware frig

Indeed, then after 6 months when everyone has filled up their 8 GB, Apple could charge $50/$100/whatever for an unlocking code to free up access to the rest of the memory that was always there in the first plac.

[big_D]

Re: Millions of unsold 5c's re-badged, storage size firmware frig

It's magic! No, it wasn't a 32GB phone with 8GB artificially locked down, it is just magic that you now have access to 32GB.

[Anonymous Coward]

8GB is pretty useless

Apple should, IMHO, be raising the floor for phone, to 16gb, and the floor for Pad, to 32gb. 8gb is IMHO blatantly taking the piss, on an iPhone priced product,

[Steven Raith]

Re: 8GB is pretty useless

It could cost half as much, with the same hardware, and still be taking the mick - 8gb really isn't much in these days of HD video and chunky games.

[Tommy Pock]

Re: 8GB is pretty useless

It's only 5GB after iOS has strolled in and put its feet up. 8GB wasn't even generous when I bought my Pre3 4 years ago

[JDX]

Re: 8GB is pretty useless

I've an 8Gb phone and it's just fine. If your software makes swapping what music is stored on it trivially easy, it's not a big deal for many people.

If you don't use your smartphone phone for storing music/video but for apps, email, web-browsing and streaming audio/video, it's also not a big deal.

[Paw Bokenfohr]

Re: 8GB is pretty useless

Yes and no.

It would be fine for my mum - she only uses Facebook and reads the news and does iMessage and FaceTime etc (FaceTime being the main reason for an iPhone as she has family overseas who already had it).

8GB would also be plenty for any of the new generation who are used to streaming everything. I'm not, and I suspect many Reg readers are not, but there are many people out there who are.

[Steven Raith]

Re: 8GB is pretty useless

Fair point on the streaming. That said, I've just realised that my Syno NAS thingy streams pretty nicely and apparently now supports pushing to Chromecast so mebbe I need to update my client device storage needs as well.

I'm down with the kids, and all that.

NOT LIKE THAT, NOT LIKE THAT.

[tin 2]

Re: 8GB is pretty useless

Absolutely! and what's 8gb flash at trade price in the qty that apple buys? $2? They should bump the storage sizes massively now that it'll do next to nothing to their margin. Perhaps that'll be a differentiator for a while, perhaps everyone else will just copy. It doesn't matter cos flash costs are so incredibly low.

Speaking as a completely won over fanboi they managed to nix my otherwise dead cert purchase of a 5S by sticking only 16GB in it and trying to charge £80 for an extra 16GB flash that I know I can buy for £10 retail.

I might be the only one, but I doubt it.

Also for the 5c, make them in black too? Or can the product completely if you don't actually want to sell them anymore.

[url]

Apple don't lose money on the unsold ones anyway right?

Something about the carriers having to pay for the unsold units.

[FlatSpot]

Re: Apple don't lose money on the unsold ones anyway right?

Are you thinking of SoR (Sale or Return)

Option 1) Carrier buys x units for £x. After agreed period, x wks/months, the stock that doesnt sell, they send back to the manufacturer who gives them their money back. (Carrier takes the initial hit)

Option 2) Carrier doesnt pay anything for x units but agrees higher (sometimes) £x back to the manufacturer for each sale. After agreed period, x wks/months, manufacturer takes back the remaining stock. (Manufacturer takes the hit)

Helpful for tax avoidance eg. realise the sale and receiving your stock back unsold after the closer of your financial period etc

[Tommy Pock]

Re: Apple don't lose money on the unsold ones anyway right?

Option Apple) Carrier agrees to buy x units (or else carrier isn't supplied with iStock and carrier goes bust). iStock is now carrier's responsibility. No returns.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oblivious to obvious

How are Apple the only people in the world to not understand that the 5C has sold badly due to it's poor value for money??? Halving the memory capacity and knocking £45 off the price is... Yep, still poor value for money.

The 5C price is not only still rather high for a Smartphone, but also too close to the 'premium' 5S. It's like being offered a Kia Rio for £18k or an Audi A3 for £20k.

[Silver]

Re: Oblivious to obvious

How are Apple the only people in the world to not understand that the 5C has sold badly due to it's poor value for money??? Halving the memory capacity and knocking £45 off the price is... Yep, still poor value for money.

Not to mention that pastel colours generally tend to put off half of your potential buyers.

[ukgnome]

8GB

That won't cut the mustard I'm afraid. once the OS is loaded on you won't have much wiggle room for apps.

[Silver]

Re: 8GB

That won't cut the mustard I'm afraid. once the OS is loaded on you won't have much wiggle room for apps.

Or updates.

Last time I did an update it wanted over 1.5GB of free space - on an 8GB phone (where you don't ever get that much actual free space) that could be extremely difficult to achieve.

On a side note, I still maintain that Apple need to decouple application updates from operating system updates and deliver the former through the (perfectly good) App Store.

[PeeKay]

It's no longer speculation - https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/apple/iphone-5c-8gb-blue/

[CadentOrange]

The 8GB iPhone 5C is depressing news if true. I was hoping that the Moto G would spur Apple to look seriously at making a lower end phone that's affordable. Not necessarily Moto G cheap, but somewhere around the £279 market would help them shift a lot more iOS devices.

Then again, Apple don't seem to be desperate for cash...

[UncleMike987]

It's official... and available to order on the Apple UK store

It's available on the Apple UK store, for £429.

Dispatched within 24 hours.

Form an orderly queue now, folks...!!

[CmdrX3]

Re: It's official... and available to order on the Apple UK store

I will..... just not the one for the 5C.

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't you need 2GB free to install 7.1? How's that gonna work in 8GB for 7.2/8??

[Random Coolzip]

"How's that gonna work in 8GB for 7.2/8?"

It won't. You'll buy a new phone, because you are fanboi. Resistance is futile, your cash will be assimilated.

[JDX]

You'd think they might as well have sold the 16Gb for for £50 less and drummed up some interest. I have actually seen a few 5C phones in the wild and rather liked them.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dont you love the crapple tax.. consider class 16GB class 10 cards are under £10... how does the extra effort to soldier it inside the phone equal the extra cost...

The 8GB models are possibly the 16gb or 32gb, where part of the NAND flash memory was iffy and was re-mapped to only use what's good..

Would be interesting to see a tear down to see if it was actually an 8gb NAND flash chip in there to confirm....

[Frank N. Stein]

An 8GB 5C isn't going to sell any better than the 16GB or 32GB 5C. Apple never intended for the 5C to be a "low cost iPhone", as that's the role served by the 4 and 4S. Where Apple failed with the 5C is in making the price far too close to the 5S such that most consumers did the math and realized that for a a bit more money, they can have the premium handset, vs the plastic colorful handset.