iPhone Mini

First budget iPhone part allegedly leaks: dual-head vibration motor

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2013

In what could be the first physical evidence of a part that may or may not be related to Apple's rumored less-pricey iPhone, a reliable Japanese blog has posts an interesting image of a ribbon cable with a dual-head vibration motor, obtained by repair shop iLab Factory. While the flex cable looks like it connects to the iPhone's standard volume rocker and mute switch, it's the rotation motor which raises hope that this particular part could belong to the budget iPhone...

France Telecom CEO: gold rush is over, budget iPhone is inevitable

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Apple's rumored less-pricey iPhone has been envisioned over and over again in some damn good renderings. The rumor mills have been churning out their fair share of whispers on a regular basis and both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have thrown their credibility behind the meme. But despite all this crazy talk and tremendous speculation, Apple is seemingly unimpressed as the company's marketing honcho kinda shot down the rumor, recently telling the press his company isn't one to blindly pursue market share.

Be that as it may, analysts warn there's only that much room to grow in the saturated high-end smartphone market. Therefore, conventional wisdom has it, Apple's going to need a more affordable device sooner than later. This has now become a sentiment shared by one wireless carrier CEO who cautions of changing consumer behavior as a lot of folks are now unwilling to pay north of $600 for an unlocked smartphone...

Colorized budget iPhone concept imagines translucent plastic shell

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 3, 2013

Apple’s rumored less-pricey iPhone has been widely reported by analysts, supply chain sources, pundits and big media as arriving later this year in a range of colors and encased in a super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber. Taking it all in, concept artists Nickolay Lamm and Matteo Gianni have created created an interesting renderings depicting the four-inch device with a curved backside and a translucent plastic shell resembling Apple's G3 iMac...

Ceramic device body patent hints at budget iPhone

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 29, 2013

We are getting more hints at how Apple could create a cheaper iPhone, a device also dubbed by the press the iPhone mini and apparently meant to improve Apple's standing in emerging markets such as India. In a new patent filing, the iPhone maker describes a production method similar to laminated fiberglass, but using ceramics. Zirconia and alumina could be combined to create a new kind of Unibody shell.

The use of zirconia would mesh both with a report earlier this month that a low-cost iPhone could include a fiberglass housing, while also potentially drawing on a 2006 Apple patent regarding zirconia as being radio transparent...

Chatter hints June 20 iPhone 5S, budget iPhone launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

With Apple's annual developers conference approaching fast, we're starting to see some credible leaks pertaining to the iPhone 5S, Apple's seventh-generation iPhone. We've already seen the leaked Home button and vibrator parts earlier this week and claimed speaker parts from before. And with analysts predicting a June launch for the device and Macotakara claiming earlier this month that Foxconn has already started the iPhone 5S production, now the same Japanese blog issues a new report that gives as the reportedly official announcement date for both the iPhone 5S and a more affordable model for emerging markets: Thursday, June 20...

Analyst: budget iPhone won’t have Retina display

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2013

Apple's rumored less-expensive iPhone aimed at emerging markets won't just shave costs by having a polycarbonate body instead of Unibody aluminum design, it is bound to have a standard-resolution screen rather than Apple's Retina display, like other iDevices. That's at least what one analyst wrote in a note to clients Friday, based on the often unreliable supply chain checks.

He's also calling for a June or July launch for both the budget iPhone and the iPhone 5S (a specs upgrade to the iPhone 5), which is the time frame that was mentioned previously in a few other recent reports...

Budget iPhone: colors, 4-inch screen, super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

Apple's budget iPhone, a rumored all-new design targeted at emerging markets where carriers rarely subsidize cell phones, will be offered in a range of colors and have a "super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber", one reliable analyst wrote in a Friday note to clients. The specs for the device were apparently decided on back in 2011 and call for a four-inch screen resembling the iPhone 5.

Dismissing talk of a 4.5-inch entry-level iPhone, the report argues Apple is "unlikely to abruptly change" its stance on screen size just because Android makers are increasingly building phablets. Jump past the fold for more tidbits...

Analyst: Apple would be ‘stupid’ not to release budget iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 14, 2013

Many analysts have voiced their support for a rumored less-pricey iPhone which they hope will help Apple recover from market share losses in emerging markets, namely China, India, Brazil and Russia - all huge markets for handsets. BTIG's Walter Piecyk goes further, calling Apple "stupid" if it doesn't release said device before year's end.

By his own estimates, Apple could sell about 36.5 million less-pricey iPhones in fiscal 2014 for an additional $11 billion in revenue - and that's after accounting for some inevitable cannibalization of the higher-priced iPhone models...

Apple said to be using Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC in upcoming budget iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ March 8, 2013

If Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and oh, I don't know, about a dozen other outlets are to be believed, Apple is going to introduce a lower-cost iPhone this year. It's said to feature a hybrid metal/plastic shell, and retail for less than $300.

Outside of those few details, though, we know very little about the handset. But a new report out of China this morning allegedly has new intel on the device, claiming it will use a Qualcomm-made SoC and go into production next month...

Analyst doubles down: iPhone 5S with fingerprint sensor coming this summer

Cody Lee ∙ March 5, 2013

Back in January, KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo revealed, what he believed to be, Apple's product roadmap for 2013. Kuo is known to have well-placed sources in Apple's supply chain, and has been accurate in the past, so his predictions tend to carry more weight than others.

The report claimed, among other things, that Apple is planning to release an iPhone 5S—complete with faster processor, improved camera and built-in finger print sensor—alongside the long rumored budget iPhone, this summer. And today, Kuo doubled down on his claims...

It’s not just iPhone 5S: budget iPhone also could come in colors

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 4, 2013

If the latest chatter coming out of Apple's Asian supply chain is to be trusted, Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer Pegatron - which produces some Apple products alongside primary gadget builder Foxconn - has been commissioned to build a rumored less-pricey iPhone that the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters and other high-profile publications previously reported on as a done deal.

It's been thought the device has a hybrid plastic/metal design, with the polycarbonate part of its body being similar to what Apple used on the now discontinued white plastic MacBook. And now, latest reports add colors to the mix...

Barclays: budget iPhone and China Mobile-compatible iPhone 5S due in August

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 1, 2013

Per a rumor out of China, Apple won't release a new iPhone at its upcoming summer developer conference. Instead, Tim Cook & Co. are thought to be targeting an August 2013 launch for both the iPhone 5S, a specs upgrade, and an inexpensive iPhone model, aimed at emerging markets that sell mostly unsubsidized handsets. And for the first time, the next iPhone will be Apple's first truly world phone capable of supporting a bunch of flavors of fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology, including China Mobile-compatible TD-SCDMA network...