Apple wants its products not just for the rich


1 Mar 2011

An analyst has said Apple is planning to make lower-priced iPhones to expand the market, after he met with its COO Tim Cook.

Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi met with Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and VP of internet services Eddy Cue last week.

Sacconaghi reportedly said Cook “appeared to reaffirm the notion that Apple is likely to develop lower-priced offerings” in order to reach all aspects of the market.

Cook also said Apple is planning “clever things” for the prepaid market, stating Apple didn’t want its products to be “just for the rich.”

Cook also said Apple spent “huge energy” in China, which is known for its prepaid market.

Earlier last month, there were rumours that Apple could be releasing a budget smartphone to tackle the mid-level market that cheaper Android phones have impacted.

The phone could have an edge-to-edge screen and may cost half as much as the current iPhone 4.

Growing competition

Tablets also were discussed at the meeting, with Sacconaghi believing Apple was focused on doing “the right things” to capitalise on this rapidly growing market.

Cook reportedly said the tablet market would be much bigger than the PC market, leading Sacconaghi to believe it could become a US$60bn to US$100bn business for Apple.

Cook also anticipates strong competition with tablets, but believed it was more intense in the smartphone market, though he said Apple has gotten a good head start and has interesting things in the pipeline.