Gossip has been raging for a while now about a mythical “cheaper iPhone.” Some people believe it’s going to follow in the footsteps of the iPod and take the form of an iPhone Nano. Others postulate that the stories refer to the iPhone 5 itself. Some simply think that Apple can’t be stupid enough to aim its products at only one area of a market that is becoming more and more competitive.
Well Apple’s COO Tim Cook has dropped some thinly veiled hints today that Apple is, in fact, trying to “figure out” the prepaid market.
“While Tim stopped short of explicitly stating that Apple would pursue a lower price iPhone, he did state that Apple was working hard to “figure out” the prepaid market and that Apple didn’t want its products to be “just for the rich,” but “for everyone”; he also stated that Apple “understood price is big factor in the prepaid market” and that the company was “not ceding any market.” Cook noted that Apple executives – including himself – had spent “huge energy” in China, noting that it is “a classic prepaid market.” He further noted that the handset distribution model was poorly constructed and that Apple would look to “innovate” and do “clever” things in addressing that market.”
While nothing is certain yet (and nothing ever is when you’re talking about Apple) it would definitely be a smart move for Apple to move in to the more affordable end of the market. The prepaid market is a huge and untapped resource for Apple, a company that until now has largely ignored not only the teens and tweens of the world, but also massive prepaid markets like China when marketing their iPhone line.
In today’s world many people believe that smartphones are basically just below food and water on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It’s about time the world’s most popular smartphone manufacturer started extending its reach and warmly embracing the lower end of the market that it has ignored for far too long.
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