A sample of the expected low-cost iPhone
Apple is reportedly working on a low-cost version of its iPhone handset for launch later this year as the company seeks to push sales into emerging markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Apple is known to be traditionally stuck to high-end market, but it has recently been rumored to be working on some sort of cut-down device targeted at low-end users.
Bloomberg News reported that the company has been working on the device since January 2011 – which may have been the source of the earlier rumours.
Citing a person familiar with the plans, Bloomberg wrote that Apple has been particularly interested in building a lower-cost model with less-expensive components as a way to appeal to customers in emerging markets.
The retail price of the budget handsets is expected to be between $99 (GHC187) and $149 (GHC282).
Analyst have wondered why Apple had remained stuck fast to the high-end market for so long, when bulk of the mobile market is low to middle end products, and its arch-rival Samsung is increasingly dominating that market as Nokia’s dominance fades gradually.
Samsung launched a budget version of its Galaxy range, the Galaxy Pocket, which is an Android-based smartphone and has become quite popular among the youth in Africa, particularly.
By the close of last year, devices with Android operating system, particularly Samsung hand-held devices commanded 75% of operating systems shipments across the globe, while Apple had a meager 15%.
Reports said Apple’s delay in getting into the low-end market has been because the company was considering a more versatile version that would work on multiple wireless networks.
The company has recently introduced an iPad Mini version of its iPad tablets, and that is a bit more affordable even though it does virtually the same things the original iPads One, Two and Three do.
Analyst say adding a less-expensive version of the iPhone would be a strategy shift for Apple, which has until now tried to appeal to more budget-conscious customers by cutting the prices of older models like iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
Apple has sold more than 270 million iPhones worldwide, and generated some $80.5 billion in sales last year alone, accounting for more than half of its revenue.
It is expected that the introduction of the low-cost iPhone would boost its market share, particularly in emerging markets, as Apple products are particularly considered to be of high quality and prestigious.