TORONTO – In what may be an attempt to regain some of its lost market share tech giant Apple announced a new budget-conscious iPhone Tuesday.
Despite the iPhone 5C being pegged as a “budget” iPhone, the device still totes some of Apple’s key features, including a 4-inch retina display, an eight-megapixel camera, and Apple’s A6 chip – the same chip found inside the iPhone 5.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called the phone “more fun and colourful” than any other iPhone, alluding to the phone’s colour lineup which consists of green, blue, yellow, pink and white.
Blog replay: Apple unveils new iPhones
But with a price tag of $599 to purchase the phone without a contract, it may come across as steep for a budget phone.
Tech expert Marc Saltzman notes that while the iPhone 5C is a cost-conscious alternative for Canadians who don’t want to spend big bucks for the fully-loaded iPhone 5S, he warns the phone may not be as good of a deal as one may think.
“It means you are going to save $100 off the subsidized price, so it may not be as good of a deal as you think. But the true cost of a phone is when you add up all of the data that you are spending every month.”
Canadian carriers have not yet announced what the pricing for the iPhone 5C will be with a contract.
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Saltzman noted that carriers could alternatively offer special low-rate data plans in conjunction with the purchase of an iPhone 5C. But don’t count on it – Saltzman noted, “Data is data regardless of your device.”
“The true cost of a phone is when you add up all the data that costs you,” he said.
Read More: Apple unveils iPhone 5S and 5C
The phone is also expected to help Apple boost sales in China and other areas where people don’t have as much money to spend on new gadgets as they do in the U.S. and Europe.
“Apple’s new strategy of resorting to a price war seems to have a clear target: the Chinese market,” said Vicki Zhang, professor at the University of Toronto.
“Given Xiaomi’s efficiency in marketing and sales, its slick combination of an iPhone feel and a local price, not to mention its recent success in pouching the top Google exec, Apple has little alternative but to enter a price war with the fierce Chinese competitor.”
– With files from the Associated Press
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