A Tale of Two iPhones

MG Siegler:

That’s the latest rumor making headlines today, based on a report by Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore, an analyst. Now, analysts typically have a horrible track record when it comes to correctly predicting Apple moves. And when I say “horrible”, I mean that you’d have a better shot correctly predicting what Apple is going to do by throwing darts at a board… with a blindfold on. But — there has been some evidence that backs up this latest claim (which is probably why they made it in the first place).

Right. “Analyst says something” should almost always be taken as punditry, not news. But there is a bit of evidence for this amongst the scraps of information that have leaked regarding new iOS hardware. And, more importantly, it makes strategic sense. Eventually Apple is going to expand the iPhone to multiple tiers. Not just “last year’s model, this year’s model”, but multiple new products. It’s just a matter of when.

Examine the history of the iPod to see how this will play out. They’ll press technologically at the high end, and they’ll expand into the mid-range market with lower priced models. Why not now?

★ Monday, 27 June 2011