iPhone 5C / 5S – Let's talk about the 5C first (Part 1)

We are coming to September again, the time when tech blogs go gaga over the to-be-released iPhone or iPhones especially for the coming 2013. It looks very apparent that there will be two iPhones that will be launched, a cheaper plastic iPhone, called the iPhone 5C and the more standard iPhone 5S closing up the loop as well. As evidenced from the last iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 launch, Singapore would probably be the first batch of launch countries. So, what’s all this talk about the iPhone 5C?

Market Demand

Less than a month away, we’re expecting Apple to unveil its first ever mid-range smartphone: a device that brings up-to-date specs to a price point dominated by second-tier Androids such as the HTC One Mini, Google Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, and countless more. All of this phones have captured market share away from Apple and looks like they have decided to compete at the same budget-friendly level, quite a dramatic change in strategy I say. This crowd apparently also likes bright vibrant colours as the iPhone 5C looks set to wow you with a whole range of cheery, pastel colours. Thus far the leaked pictures keep showing the luminous green which I tend to associate more with the younger crowd, who may not exactly be keen on a budget iPhone. Time will tell on how sales perform for the iPhone 5C.

Apple is betting and hoping that a lower-cost iPhone will be attractive to consumers in emerging markets to help it claw back some of the market share it has since lost to Android (and slightly to Nokia) in countries such as China and India. A dominant market share strengthens the other areas of its eco-system, apps and third party accessories. It’s obviously a very tough line to walk but Apple has no choice but to try.

How did the iPhone 5C get it’s name?

If you were wondering how did the iPhone 5C nomenclature came about, the picture should help explain it all. With that the clever folks soon postulated that the C stands for Colour.

iPhone 5C Specifications

As Apple has it’s own hardware processor chip line, it would likely be the iPhone 5C to use something that had already been developed and would very likely use the same dual-core A6 processor as the iPhone 5, as well as 1GB of RAM, with probably options for either 8GB or 16GB storage only. That would still ensure that it has enough specs to run the latest iOS7.

It comes in gaudy green. This ugly green colour iPhone mockup have been all around the net now, and I really hope Apple is trolling us with this leak. It’s downright ugly!

Other rumours are floating that the iPhone 5C will come in 5 colors/colours (Red/Blue/Yellow/Green/White). Looks like a glossy plastic finish / laminate to the phone.

Availability

It would be announced on 10th September (Tuesday), mark your calendars people. Typically, it will be a colour of weeks before the phone would be available for consumers, therefore we are looking at late September for actual iPhone 5C to hit store shelves. I don’t think this particular model will be flying off the shelves unlike the previous models. Price-wise, while the iPhone 5C has long been billed as the “budget” iPhone, it won’t be startlingly cheap. I am guessing it would be around $599 without plan? and should be at about 150-200 for a plan with the telco group (Singtel/Starhub/M1).

Conclusion

That’s all we have for now, but we will update with more news on the iPhone 5C once available. Stay connected, like us on Facebook to get the latest.