Apple unveiled the iPhone 5S at a major press event from its Cupertino headquarters in Calif. on Tuesday. The company unveiled the new flagship smartphone alongside the new plastic backed "low-cost" iPhone 5C. The 5C was supposed to be the company's answer to Android's domination of the low-end smartphone market by offering an iPhone that's affordable even for the lower income-earning user. However, that's not exactly what people got with the new handheld from Apple.
"...We worry that Apple's inability/unwillingness to come out with a low-price offering for emerging markets nearly ensures that the company will continue to be an overall share loser in the smartphone market until it chooses to address the low end," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst said in a note, via Reuters.
The iPhone C, although touted as a "low-price" option, will cost users $549 for the 16GB version and $649 for the 32GB version. Needless to say, this is not exactly the "low-price" option people who heard about the iPhone 5C prior to its unveiling were hoping for.
For quite some time, Apple has been trying to make a name for itsef in the potentially lucrative Chinese smartphone market. The iPhone 5C was expected by many to be a big step forward in achieving that goal. Unfortunately, no one in the country seems to be impressed with the price.
"Selling in China for $732, how is that a cheap price?" asked Xiang Ligang, an IT company employee, on Sina Weibo, China's popular Twitter-like platform, via USA Today. "No doubt this iPhone is still an excellent cell phone, but it will die from Apple being cocksure and impervious to criticism,"
It appears the new iPhone C is no different from a simple price reduction on the iPhone 5. Although it has a handful of improved features, it certainly won't be giving Apple a foothold in the low-cost smartphone market anytime soon, mainly because the device isn't low-cost by many people's standards.
