Citing anonymous sources "close to retailers," The Telegraph reported on Thursday that after more than three years on the market, Apple will finally retire the iPhone 3GS with next week's media event. Taking its place as Apple's free on-contract handset will be the iPhone 4, first released in 2010.
The new "iPhone 5" will reportedly be available in three capacities, while an 8-gigabyte iPhone 4S is also expected to be introduced, replacing the iPhone 4 at the $100 price point.
The details align with Apple's current pricing structure, in which the company sells a smaller 8-gigabyte version of last year's handset for $100. Beginning in 2011, Apple also kept around the iPhone 3GS as a free on-contract phone to court more entry-level buyers.
If Apple does decide to stop selling the iPhone 3GS, recent buyers of the handset won't be left behind. The forthcoming release of iOS 6 will be available on the iPhone 3GS, though some features, such as turn-by-turn navigation, require a newer version of the iPhone.
Earlier this year, one analyst predicted that Apple will not outright kill the iPhone 3GS. Instead, Peter Misek with Jefferies suggested that Apple plans to continue selling the iPhone 3GS only in developing markets. There it was said Apple could expand sales by offering the 2009 smartphone for under $300 with no contract.
Another analyst, Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray, also expects that Apple will offer a $200 unsubsidized iPhone in 2013. Currently, the 8-gigabyte iPhone 3GS is available for purchase without a contract for $375.
46 Comments
Common sense trumps any rumour on this - it was obvious. Frankly, I'd prefer if they dropped the 4 too. And let the entry level iPhone be an 8 GB iPhone 4S. Would simplify the lineup.
Common sense trumps any rumour on this - it was obvious. Frankly, I'd prefer if they dropped the 4 too. And let the entry level iPhone be an 8 GB iPhone 4S. Would simplify the lineup.
Agreed--and further, allow more upgrades to more users. Upgrading to the latest iOS isn't worth much if features are disabled based on your older hardware.
Common sense trumps any rumour on this - it was obvious. Frankly, I'd prefer if they dropped the 4 too. And let the entry level iPhone be an 8 GB iPhone 4S. Would simplify the lineup.
I would love it if they dropped everything but the current model and concentrated on making a cheap off contract phone for $100. It seems like a much better strategy to me than keeping three year old products on sale in such a rapidly changing industry.
The "long tail" on iPhone ownership is holding back new features for all and generally confusing consumers who can't really grok the differences between three almost identical devices with similar names. With the additional confusion of only adding new features to US phones until the second year, what they have is such a hodge-podge that one needs a paper manual to figure out what's supported on what devices in what country.
Dropping the 3GS in "rich" countries makes sense. But it would also make sense to keep it around at a lower price in developing countries.
I also think they should simplify the 5 lineup to only 16GB & 64GB models. They should sell the 64 for $100 more (same as current 32), they'll eat a bit of profit margin, but overall I think they will come out ahead in terms of inventory, logistics, manufacturing simplicity, not to mention producing vastly more quantities of the 64 will help with the economies of scale and slightly lower profit margins on that model. Its what I would do anyway.
Oh, and I would love a cheaper 8GB 4S, same price as current 3GS. Would eat that up in a heartbeat. Still an incredibly fast, capable phone and should get updates for another year or 2 at least.