Apple’s Phil Schiller has dismissed the idea that Apple would launch a cheaper iPhone.
In his interviewed with the Shanghai Evening News, the senior vice president of Apple marketing stated that Apple would: “Not develop cheap smartphones in order to grab market share”.
“Some manufacturers use cheap smartphones to replace feature phones, but this is not Apple’s product development direction,” he said, according to our translation.
As we reported yesterday, a move towards using cheaper materials to produce a low-cost iPhone would go against the philosophy of Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs, and Schiller’s comments confirm that the company wouldn’t reduce quality of its products like this.
For Apple quality and user experience are most important. Schiller explained that when Apple creates a new product, it “uses the best technology, including the production processes, Retina screen, and the aluminum alloy integrally molded to provide the best products for the market.”
The Chinese report notes that that Schiller “repeatedly stressed that the user experience, user experience is the key to winning Apple.”
Schiller also referred to other companies that launch multiple products (as we noted yesterday, Samsung launched 37 smartphones last year, compared to Apple’s one iPhone 5).
Schiller said: “We are not like other companies, launching multiple products in one breath, then pinning their hopes on a product to get the favor of consumers.”
“There are 700,000 apps suitable for use on the Apple smartphone. Our competitors have launched many new products, but after purchase consumers will find no suitable software products and a poor user experience.”
The report adds that: “Although Apple has 20% share of the smartphone market, it has scored 75% of the profits.”
Market share is not something Apple is concerned about, according to Schiller. Apple “proud to create the best products,” he said, adding: “Market share is just a byproduct”.
The report seems to suggest that Schiller revealed that Apple has already sold 200 million iPhone 5 smartphones in China, compared to 100 million sales of the iPhone 4S. “More than double,” he said. Apple confirmed in December that it had sold two million iPhones in the first weekend of sales.
The denial of the cheaper-iPhone rumour comes off the back of Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg reports that have appeared this week. The rumour of a less-expensive iPhone mini has been circulating for some time.
This was the first interview by an Apple executive to happen in China, according to the report.
Via: 9to5Mac.
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Author: Karen Haslam, Editor
Macworld editor since 2008, Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld almost two decades ago.
Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple.