Why Is The iPhone 5C Not Selling As Well As Apple Wanted?
Last year, when Apple released the iPhone 5, the high end (at that time) smartphone from Apple cost over two hundred dollars to manufacture. This year, when it was time to drop the iPhone 5′s price (as the new high end iPhone 5S was about to replace the older iPhone 5), Apple was faced with a dilemma: should the company sell the iPhone 5 for less than a hundred bucks and lose money as the smartphone costs $200 to manufacture?
Apple found that the only solution to the problem would be to make the iPhone 5 cheaper to manufacture, so cheaper to sell. So the company made another smartphone, one that would be similar to the iPhone 5 in specs, performance and even design, but built with cheaper materials that would considerably lower production costs. That smartphone is what we now call the iPhone 5C and analysts reported that Apple saves at least thirty dollars manufacturing the iPhone 5C compared to the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5C was the ideal solution, at least that is what the company believed. The iPhone 5 was a huge success, so the Cupertino based company believed that if it will be able to sell a smartphone similar, that offered the same experience as the iPhone 5, but cheaper to manufacture, then both the company and its customers would benefit. To make the deal even better, Apple decided to release the cheaper to built iPhone 5C in a wide range of colors hoping this move would help the iPhone 5C sell more units, as it helped the iPod in the early 2000s when the iPod mini was released in a variety of colors.
However, things did not work very well for Apple and the iPhone 5C as it didn’t sell as much as Apple wanted. In almost a month after both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C were released, on September 20th, the high end iPhone 5S outsold the iPhone 5C. According to Boston based firm Localytics, during the first week the iPhone 5S was about 3.4 times more popular than the iPhone 5C in the United States market and about 3.7 times more popular in international markets. This week, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported that the iPhone 5S has been outselling the cheaper iPhone 5C by more than a two to one margin. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners also claimed the iPhone 5S accounts for 64% of the new iPhone sales, while the iPhone 5C is left with only 27%. As you probably know, Apple did not release individual sales data for its new iPhone models and it is unlikely that it will do so in the future.
Why Is The iPhone 5c Underperforming?
The iPhone 5C received praise from many critics about its new form factor and about its “’beautifully, unapologetically plastic” polycarbonate case that actually feels like fine ceramic than ordinary plastic; however, despite the praise it received from critics, consumers don’t seem to like the iPhone 5C regardless of it being available in a rainbow of colors. And it’s not that the iPhone 5C is a bad smartphone; on the contrary, as we mentioned it has similar specs as the iPhone 5 (and also a similar design), offering the same experience. The reason why the iPhone 5C is not selling as well as the high end iPhone 5S is its price: consumers were expecting a low budget iPhone and the iPhone 5C is not as cheap as many had hoped; it’s not exactly new or innovative either, using last year’s specs so it is understandable why consumers go for the iPhone 5S instead.
There have been many rumors prior to Apple’s September 10th iPhone media event and most of these rumors were pointing to the iPhone 5C being a low budget smartphone that Apple would use to gain entrance in emergent markets. However, after its unveiling, it quickly became clear that the iPhone 5C is still a luxury product and not a low budget one. As we just mentioned, most analysts suggested that Apple will use the iPhone 5c to establish a presence in emergent markets, especially in countries where Apple’s smarthpones are not very cheap or subsidized by carriers. But when you look at the iPhone 5C’ off contract price in Chine (about $735) it becomes clear that the iPhone 5C is very much a luxury product, not for everyone.
As it turns out, a new form factor (which must be said, is heavier and thicker than the iPhone 5) and many color variants, are not enough to make the iPhone 5C sell as much as the iPhone 5S. Specs and innovation also matter, as the iPhone 5C has last year’s specs, while the iPhone 5S has updated specs and new technologies such as the fingerprint sensor and the M7 motion co-processor. Plus, the iPhone 5S features a lighter and thinner aluminum case.
That’s not to say the iPhone 5C is doomed; on the contrary, it will likely see brighter days, even if it happens next year. For example, we are sure that in October 2014 the iPhone 5C will sell for free on contract and that is a very good price for the iPhone 5C (it does offer a similar experience as the iPhone 5), especially unsubsidized. Unfortunately, until then, it is likely that many Apple customers will decide to pay a hundred dollars more for a thinner, lighter and better iPhone, that also comes with a 64 bit System on Chip, a motion co-processor and a fingerprint sensor.
About The iPhone 5C
The iPhone 5C heavily borrows from the iPhone 5 but it also improves some aspects of Apple’s 2012 flagship. There are also a few differences between the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5. The most obvious one is the transition from the aluminum unibody of the iPhone 5 to the polycarbonate case of the iPhone 5C. Another obvious difference is the fact that the iPhone 5C was released in five color variants (these being blue, green, yellow, pink and white) instead of just two (black and white) like the iPhone 5.
Inside the iPhone 5C’ case, there is almost the same hardware that Apple used when making the iPhone 5. Both the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5C are powered by the A6 System on Chip, both feature the same 4 inch Retina display, the same 8 MP camera sensor with 2.4 aperture and single LED flash and both run iOS 7. The iPhone 5C also features a few upgrades, such as the front facing FaceTime camera and the battery (the iPhone 5C was released with a 1507 mAh battery while the iPhone 5 features a 1,440 mAh battery). The iPhone 5C also supports 13 LTE bands, more than any other smartphone besides the high end iPhone 5S.
About The iPhone 5S
While the iPhone 5S has a similar design as the iPhone 5, there are a few differences between it and the iPhone 5 in two ways. One difference is represented by the fact that the single, circular flash of last year’s iPhone was replaced by a dual LED flash that is built with amber and white LEDs for increased color accuracy, especially for skin tones. The other difference between the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5 is represented by the three color variants of the iPhone 5S: the first is the same silver on white color of the iPhone 5, and the other two new color variants are a space grey on black (which replaces the slate on black iPhone 5, that many customers complaint about being easily scratch-able) and a new white on gold color that sells like hotcakes ; unfortunately supply of the gold iPhone 5S is low.
The A7 System on Chip that powers the iPhone 5S, is twice as fast as the iPhone 5′s A6 System on Chip in both graphics performance and computational performance. And while the fact that the A7 SoC is built on “billions of transistors” is pretty impressive, even more impressive is the fact that the iPhone 5S is the first smartphone in the world to be powered by a 64 bit SoC. Unfortunately for now there aren’t many 64 bit optimized apps on the App Store; however, in the near future more 64 bit apps will start to be released and they be able to take advantage of all the 64 bit architecture of the A7 SoC.
The iPhone 5S also comes equipped with a new iSight camera sensor, that is just as amazing as the fingerprint sensor. The new camera sensor is improved from the iPhone 5′s camera due to a larger aperture (f/2.2) that receives more light from the environment and also because of larger sized pixels in the image sensor. While featuring the same 8 MP resolution as iPhone 5′s camera, thanks to its dual LEDs iPhone 5S’ camera can adjust its flash intensity based on the color temperature of the picture, thus improving color balance; it can choose from nearly 1000 combinations for an almost perfect lighting in every picture you take with your iPhone 5S. As a result, images taken with the iPhone 5S’ camera will look more accurate than pictures taken with iPhone 5′s camera.
iPhone 5S’ new iSight camera also includes a pretty cool feature: burst mode. This feature allows you to capture 10 pictures per second by holding the shutter button down. The feature can choose the best picture based on lighting and pose, but you can also make the choice yourself, from all the captured images. The new iSight camera also performs admirably when recording videos, thanks its auto image stabilization and live video zoom (up to 3x); it also comes with a feature that allows you to record videos in slow motion at 120 frames per second and a resolution of 720p.
The star of iPhone 5S’ specs is most likely the fingerprint sensor. It is very thin (170 microns), it senses 550 pixels per inch and it can scan your sub epidermal skin layers using a 360 degree design that allows it to read the print at any angle. Touch ID, the security system using the integrated fingerprint sensor, can detect and remember multiple fingerprints, up to five individual fingerprints. This will allow you to share your iPhone 5s with a few people.
Touch ID is very easy to set up: going to Settings in iOS 7, you can program a finger or thumb by simply lifting and placing it (repeatedly) on the smartphone’s Home button. The iPhone 5s will let you know when to lift your finger (or thumb) via vibrations. While the fingerprint sensor scans your fingerprint, a graphic representation of a fingerprint is shown on the iPhone 5S’ display, changing to red. Once your fingerprint is scanned and Touch ID is set up, you will be able not only to unlock your iPhone 5S but also to purchase content from the App Store and from iTunes without the need of a pass code; all you will need to do is touch the Home button.
The inclusion of a fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S made people think about possible privacy issues. The truth is there is no reason to worry about your fingerprint data being stolen from your iPhone 5S. The A7 SoC, that handles all data collected from the fingerprint sensor, keeps your fingerprint data in a remote part of itself; this remote section of the A7 SoC cannot normally communicate with other parts of itself or with the cloud. The only way that the fingerprint data section of the A7 System on Chip communicates with other parts of the A7 SoC is via interrogation; the A7 SoC answers with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’, depending on whether the fingerprint sensor was able to authenticate the user’s identity or not. This makes the Touch ID system not only very secure (as the data is safely stored in a remote part of the A7 SoC) but also very fast: when you put your finger on the Home button to unlock your iPhone 5S, Touch ID works instantly. The fingerprint sensor from the iPhone 5S marks a very huge leap forward from the old ‘Swipe to unlock’ experience.
