Tag: apple

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iPhone 5c: C is for Cheaper

I believe the iPhone 5s is a good phone. The iPhone 5c? Ummm let’s just say the iPhone 5s provides the better value and that’s where Apple’s emphasis is on. The mid-tier and low/free-tier phones are there only to provide coverage. But here are the numbers as to why I think Apple came out with the iPhone 5c.

Below is the pricing before the iPhone 5s arrived,  the pricing if Apple had’t released the iPhone 5c, and the current pricing.

  Subsidized Selling Price Unsubsidized Selling Price iSuppli Est. Cost Gross Margin Gross Margin % Gross Margin % Change
IPhone 5 64GB 399 849 238 611 71.97%
IPhone 5 32GB 299 749 217 532 71.03%
IPhone 5 16GB 199 649 207 442 68.10%
iPhone 4S 16GB 99 549 196 353 64.30%
IPhone 4 8GB FREE
iPhone 5S 64GB 399 849 218.3 630.7 74.29% 2.32%
IPhone 5S 32GB 299 749 208.1 540.9 72.22% 1.19%
IPhone 5S 16GB 199 649 198.7 450.3 69.38% 1.28%
IPhone 5 16GB 99 549 207 342 62.30% -2.00%
iPhone 4S 8GB FREE
iPhone 5S 64GB 399 849 218.3 630.7 74.29% 2.32%
IPhone 5S 32GB 299 749 208.1 540.9 72.22% 1.19%
IPhone 5S 16GB 199 649 198.7 450.3 69.38% 1.28%
iPhone 5C 32GB 199 649 182.85 466.15 71.83%
iPhone 5C 16GB 99 549 173.45 375.55 68.41% 4.11%
iPhone 4S 8GB FREE

If Apple hadn’t released the iPhone 5c, they would have taken a 2% reduction in the gross margin of their mid-tier phone. But instead with the 16GB iPhone 5c they were able to pull off a 4.11% increase. Or 6.11% if compared against the alternate scenario. I don’t know about you, but I think 4% is pretty good! Notice that they were also able get modest increases in their top-tier phone gross margins.

This increase is mainly due to savings in the casing. That’s why the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5 are practically the same except for the casing. Apple bumped down their previous top-tier phone as they normally do but this time changed the casing. Plus, given the similarities between the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 casings, there are production line benefits for the top-tier phone.

People were disappointed by the price of the iPhone 5c. It certainly wasn’t cheaper for them (or me). But it certainly was cheaper for Apple. To manufacture.

 

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The Apple A7 Chip is a Marketing Gimmick

So says Qualcomm. They (and others) are always highlighting the memory addressability when talking about the A7. A 32-bit processor would be able to address 2^32 or 4 gigabytes of memory. A 64-bit processor would be able to address 2^64 or 4 exbibytes. At this point, exbibytes is not really relevant smartphone or not. The more important things are the datapaths and register sizes. A 64-bit datapath can carry twice the data a 32-bit datapath can. A 64-bit register can process twice the data a 32-bin register can. Of course software needs to take advantage of it. But iOS 7 is 64-bit and Apple has provided the tools to rebuild to 64-bit. And then they go on and admit that they’re also working on a 64-bit processor. Now who is pulling a marketing gimmick?

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MicroUSB is Shit

I’ve been playing around a lot with Android and my LG Optimus Black recently so I found myself having to recharge often. And of course, it recharges via microUSB with which I’ve had so many problems. Those plugs are so darn flakey! Maybe I don’t take care of my plugs well enough, maybe I just got some shoddy plugs. But comparing microUSB to Lightning,  it’s quite clear that Lightning is so much better. Being a standard doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good and Apple thought different and went ahead with Lightning. It’s these little things that makes Apple great.

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iOS 7 Gold Master

Apple has released iOS 7 Gold Master (GM), right after the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch. The GM is already the final version for release. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any more outward changes. Unfortunately because I was still hoping for changes to those fugly icons. But the good news is that iOS 7 is good to go!

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Apple iPhone 5S vs Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4

Now that Apple has announced the iPhone 5S, it’s time for a side-by-side for comparison against the previous iPhone 5 and the de facto Android flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The first question is, is it an upgrade over the iPhone 5? The answer is yes, specifically in the processor, the camera, and Touch ID. Apple’s “S” releases are normally minor updates. So this is actually significant. Apple obviously is feeling the competitive pressure.

The next question is how does it fare against the Galaxy S4? By the numbers you would see that Galaxy S4 would win. But most numbers don’t matter much (e.g. processor speed, and megapixel count) without context. So I won’t even go into the 64-bit (although really that is significant). Numbers are nothing compared to the experience.

I’d say you can’t go wrong with either iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S4. Personally, I’d go for the iPhone 5S due to four reasons: design (understated elegance), the size (I like my phones small and light), the camera (True Tone flash, 2.2/f aperture and 15% larger sensor) and Touch ID (definitely more secure than Android’s rather gimmicky face unlock).

Apple iPhone 5S Apple iPhone 5 Samsung Galaxy S4
Size 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
Weight 112 g 112 g 130 g
Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
LTE LTE LTE
Display LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
640 x 1136 pixels, 4 inches (326 ppi) 640 x 1136 pixels, 4 inches (326 ppi) 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (441 ppi)
Processor unspecified processor, unspecified GPU, Apple A7 chipset, 64-bit unspecified processor, unspecified GPU, Apple A6 chipset Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU
RAM unspecified unspecified 1/2 GB RAM
Internal Storage 16/32/64 GB 16/32/64 GB 16/32/64 GB
External Storage No External Memory No External Memory Up to 64GB
Data Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP v4.0 with A2DP v4.0 with A2DP
NFC none none yes
Operating System iOS 7 iOS 6 Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Camera 8 megapixel AF with True Tone dual-LED flash and f/2.2 aperture lens, 15-percent larger sensor, 10fps burst 8 megapixel AF, f/2.4 aperture lens 13 megapixel AF, f/2.2 aperture lens
Video 1080p at 30fps, LED video light 1080p at 30fps, LED video light 1080p at 30fps, LED video light
Apps About 900K from the Apple App Store About 900K from the Apple App Store About 1M from Google Play + access to non-market apps
Battery Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Ion 2600 mAh
Standby Up to 270 h (3G) Up to 225 h (3G) Up to 370 h (3G)
Talk-time Up to 10 h (3G) Up to 8 h (3G) Up to 117 h (3G)