Apple is already planning to cease production of the iPhone 5C in 2015, as well as the iPhone 4S, to concentrate on Touch ID handsets.
If you were hoping to get your hands on one of the lower cost Apple iPhones, you might have to get in quick as Apple plans to wind-down production of the iPhone 5C and 4S in the coming months.
With the release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the 5C and 4S are the only handsets which Apple still produces which don’t have fingerprint sensor technology. Looks like Apple will be streamlining its smartphone range to include Touch ID enabled devices only.
The news comes straight from the manufacturers, after KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confirmed that FoxConn and Wistron, the two main suppliers of components to Apple, would stop producing items for these devices.
The iPhone 5C wasn’t quite the hit that Apple hoped it would be. Aimed firmly at the younger, lower budget market the device never really took off, largely due to the fact that the price was never really that low, with the base model retailing at over £450 without a contract. According to recent figures, the iPhone 5C accounted for a similar percentage of sales as the iPhone 6 Plus has in the first few months of sales, however the big-screened 6 Plus is considered more of a success, perhaps due to the higher cost and greater profit margin.
It’s a shame that Apple’s foray into the ‘budget’ end of the market was so poorly executed. It’s doubtless that a truly cheap iPhone would be big news, but we’re just not sure that Cupertino’s finest will ever drop its prices and sacrifice its exclusivity enough to include a true low-cost device.
On the plus side, it’s likely that the iPhone 5S will see even greater reduction in price once the 4S and 5C disappear, so it’s not all bad news!
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