Will the iPhone get cheaper or pricier? Will the next Apple smartphone, the iPhone 6, be bigger in size? The answer depends on who you believe knows best, what industry pundit you follow, what tech site you read, and whether you can correctly analyze one-year old Apple marketing documents.
One analyst claims the iPhone 6, likely to debut early new fall, will be bigger, better than ever and come with a price tag reflecting all its added glory. Matt Margolis believes iPhone 6 users will pony up more bucks for what's coming: incredible speed, bigger display, more RAM and improvements to the iPhone 5S touch screen.
Yet court documents made public in the ongoing Apple-Samsung patent court battle reveals internal Apple marketing material, dated 2013, that indicates users want cheaper smartphones boasting bigger displays. The graphics reveal that a growing number of users are buying bigger-display phones that cost less than the iPhone, with a page heading on one chart stating, "Consumers want what we don't have."
But will Apple go cheaper? It's certainly not in its product nature. In fact Steve Jobs was quoted in various pubs throughout the years stating he was not in favor of decreasing price points even when competition in the PC and laptop business got a bit hot.
Will Apple expand the iPhone display? It's been sticking with the 4-inch option while competitor Samsung has jumped into the big display market with both feet and is gaining ground. There are some rumblings Apple may jump to 4.7. Whether Apple makes such a form factor depends on what it'll cost and how it will impact Apple's margin. Apple is Apple after all and margin is its Holy Grail.
Depending on whether you sign a carrier contract, the desired amount of RAM, or want an unlocked device, Apple's newest iPhone 5s' price tag ranges from $200 to nearly $900 bucks.
In comparison, Samsung's Galaxy S5, due out by week's end, is being priced at about $199 with a two-year contract. Sprint is even throwing in a free Galaxy Tab on its new Framily plan option. Unlocked the price on the S5 is in the mid $700 range.
One thing is very clear, even to those not tracking smartphone trends. Samsung is making inroads with its latest devices to beat out the iPhone. Increased carrier competition is driving down both plan and smartphone costs. But it'll be another six months or so before we can determine if the cost cutting and form factor changes cross into Apple waters and who will be slicing profit margins once the two smartphone powerhouses have their latest and greatest devices in market.
