Apple iPhone 5 release to see iPhone 4S land as Apple's budget smartphone offering?
Ahead of the iPhone 5 release date new reports have suggested the next-generation smartphone is to be joined by a cheaper iPhone 4 arrival as Apple looks to make headway into the mid-range smartphone market.
Continuing rumours of a mooted iPhone 4S device, Apple is said to be preparing the second device in an attempt to quash Google’s dominance of the mid-range smartphone market through its Android operating system.
"A lower-priced version of iPhone 4 seems to be a necessary evil at this point in the iPhone adoption cycle, especially in emerging markets where the average income of individuals is much lower," said Channing Smith, co-manager of the Capital Advisors Growth Fund, which owns Apple shares.
Whilst latest iPhone 5 rumors have put the device as sporting an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD video recording capabilities and a 1GHz dual-core processor, iPhone 4S speculation has seen the budget iPhone tipped as boasting the same form factor as the current iPhone 4 but with just 8GB of internal storage and a lower quality display.