Last week the Internet felt a splash of images and swarm of new rumors regarding the mid-tier smartphone that tech junkies have dubbed the “iPhone 5C”. Yes, it would appear that the claims of a budget device that Apple’s own Senior Vice President, Phillip Schiller rebutted may be true.
Based on the latest rumors and reports, the iPhone 5C will release alongside the iPhone 5S this September. It will sport a 4-inch screen and scaled-down specs to accommodate its lower price tag. Although no one is certain what its innards will contain, it is fairly obvious based on the leaked images that the device will be made of plastic in lieu of glass and metal. Rumor has it that it will be available in up to 8 flavors, 5 of which have already been revealed. So far, you have your choice between red, green, yellow, white, and blue. Rumors of the device have been circulating for months, but this new evidence has some Apple aficionados scratching their noggins and others banging their heads against walls.
Apple has built its brand on quality products. Products that are not outlandishly expensive, but certainly not “affordable”. Under the helm of Steve Jobs, Apple never relied on budget versions of its products to market to less-demanding consumers. Instead it focused on building quality products that would last for years. And when the new model of the product was released, finicky consumers could purchase the older model at a budget price.
But the company’s current CEO, Tim Cook looks at the world with different eyes than his New Balance sneakers-clad predecessor. In 2012, Cook released The 4th generation iPad and the iPad mini simultaneously. The iPad mini was marketed as a smaller iPad, but it turned out to be an inferior product designed for stingier consumers. This marketing move was a huge leap from Apple’s decade old strategy. Not only was the device a step back in quality, but it was designed for alien market outside of the company’s core group of consumers. This virtually went against everything Steve Jobs stood for.
Should Apple release the iPhone 5C, it will be an even greater departure from the Jobs Dynasty’s marketing strategy. Unlike the iPad mini, the iPhone 5C cannot hide itself for what it is. It is not a smaller version of the iPhone 5S. It is a budget device with reduced specs designed to appeal to consumers who will not shell out the money for a 5S. It’s selection of bright colors and lighter price tag are means to attract new demographics in foreign and domestic markets. The iPhone 5C will have long-term effects on Apple’s brand. We will learn in time if it is for better or worse. But one thing is certain, by creating mid-tier devices for cheaper markets, Apple is looking less like Apple and more like Samsung.
It all begs the question, “What would Jobs do?” How would Apple’s former CEO react to these tactics that he steered clear from for decades?
I like to imagine that if Steve Jobs was alive today, he would show up to Apple’s September 10th event unannounced. And in the moment Cook holds aloft the iPhone 5C to unveil it to the world, Jobs would step up to that blacked-out stage and infuriatingly pace towards his misguided successor. He’d deliver a disgusted snarl and remove his belt from his faded shapeless dad jeans. Then he’d whip some sense into his protege and exit stage left, knowing in his mind that he had done what needed to be done.
Posted by David Yi, Social Media and SEO Assistant at Wireless Emporium