So far, the iPhone 5C has failed miserably to attract the budget smartphone crowd. Most customers believe that the 5C is overpriced and prefer to buy the high-end iPhone 5S for just $100 more. Apple has all but admitted that the 5C is a flop, but now a new report hints that the company may offer an 8 GB iPhone 5C at a lower price starting Tuesday.
The report from stadt-bremerhaven.de references an internal email from German carrier O2, which states that the official launch of the 8 GB iPhone 5C will be Tuesday March 18 at 8 a.m. in Germany. The email adds that the devices will be delivered to O2 stores on Monday March 17. At first, the 8 GB version will only be available in white and blue, says the email, but it is assumed that more colors will be forthcoming. The email also includes a strict warning that no one at O2 is to show the devices or their packaging to anyone else prior to the official launch.
O2 will reportedly sell the new 8 GB version of the iPhone 5C for €509, which is €60 less than the current price of the entry-level 16 GB iPhone 5C O2 currently offers for €569. It is unknown if both the 16 GB and 32 GB versions of the iPhone 5C will get an additional price drop, but the odds are against it. After all, Apple isn't a fan of discounts.
The new 8 GB version of the iPhone 5C will have all the same specifications as it did at launch, but the built-in storage will be halved. The new iPhone 5C will feature the same A6 processor, 4-inch retina display and 8-megapixel back camera.
It is unknown if Apple's alleged decision to offer an 8 GB version of the struggling iPhone 5C will hurt iPhone 4S sales, seeing as it is the only other iPhone that comes in an 8 GB option. Of course, to hurt iPhone 4S sales, the 8 GB iPhone 5C would have to appeal to customers in the first place. Even if the 8 GB iPhone 5C becomes a reality on Tuesday, it is still unlikely to appeal to hard-core Apple fans. Most iFanatics want the latest and the greatest iPhone, not the plastic iPhone 5C with just 8 GB of storage onboard.
If customers want a budget smartphone, the iPhone 5C is not for them. It's still going to be too expensive for what it is. You can get a Nexus 5 smartphone from Google with 16 GB of storage, a processor that is more than the A6's equal and an 8-megapixel camera of basically the same quality as the one on the iPhone 5C for basically half the price at $349.
The iPhone 5C's problem is not that it has too much storage, it's that the 5C isn't cheap enough.
