Apple iPhone: Analysts Predict Production of Cheaper Variants in next two years

Business analyst, gene Munster, predicted that in the next two years, cheaper versions of iPhones might be developed by Apple. In his conversation with Emirates Business, Munster said that he expected an unsubsidized model of iPhones priced around $200 (approx Rs 11,000) mostly aimed at the developing markets like China and India.

Munster predicts such a move is because the Western model would not function well in these markets. In the West, mobile network operators provide the high-end phones at subsidized costs and would later recoup this amount by the provision of monthly data plans which cost a lot. The likelihood of this method working in the developing markets is very slim.

Currently, the most popular smartphones in these relatively new markets are Android-based phones. There could also be a lot of potential customers who have not upgraded to smartphones. The analyst cites all these reasons for his prediction that Apple would most likely roll out a cheaper iPhone by 2014. Even though it is just a proposed theory now, the idea has great potential in store for Apple. The growing smartphone markets could be effectively tapped by the smartphone maker to turn it to its advantage.

If at all Apple decides along these lines, it remains to be seen if it would roll out an older model or if it a budget version. Apple is never known to use budget hardware. But such cheaper smartphones would definitely give it an edge over Android with phones like Google Nexus 4, immensely popular because of its low price in U.S. and U.K.