US: "Cheap version" of why the IPhone 5c is priced so high

The IPhone 5c was thought to be a cheap version of the iPhone9 month 20th, outside Apple's flagship store in Sydney, Australia, at the 33-Year-old Jimmy Gunnavan to showcase two new Apple machines he had just purchased. On that day, Apple's new two smartphone iphone 5s and iphone 5c were listed in 9 countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. Australia's east Coast stores are the first to sell new machines due to global jet lag. Xinhua news agency, AFP, reported September 21 that the traditional wisdom of the iphone in China has been the same for years: Although the iconic smartphone is very popular in China, it is too expensive for most people. The U.S. "Atlantic Monthly" September 12 reported that the newly launched Apple 5S mobile phone in China, the price of 5288 yuan, about 864 U.S. dollars, than Beijing's per capita monthly income is higher. So the idea seems plausible when it comes to rumors that Apple will launch a cheap version of the iphone to lure emerging market consumers. The iphone has become a popular mobile phone in China and is now affordable for millions of of people. Apple's offensive against the Chinese market seems clear, coupled with the company's imminent signing of a deal with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator and 700 million users. The company even held a product launch in Beijing for the first time in history. These are good news for China's fruit powder. But there is a problem: the "cheap" iphone is still very expensive. A "non-contract" 5C handset has a minimum price of 4488 yuan, only 17% cheaper than the fully functional iphone 5S, making most Chinese people unbearable. Understandably, consumers who want to buy these phones are very disappointed. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted an Sina Weibo user as saying he felt "cheated", while several potential customers in Beijing said in an interview with Bloomberg correspondent Christina Rassen that they would probably not consider buying a new iphone. The phone's bad publicity has even left Apple's shares down nearly 6%. That raises the question: Is Apple screwing up? Was it misreading the Chinese market and accidentally setting too high a price for the new phone to be driven out of the world's fastest-growing smartphone market? The report argues that this is not true. The belief that Apple's refusal to sell a cheap version of the iphone is a non-coercive mistake reflects a general misconception about the business model of the business: Apple has not tried to sell handsets to as many people as possible. In fact, avoiding this strategy is the key to its success in China. Analysts understand Apple's interest in China by drawing a simple truth: China has a lot of people. Many of them do not have smartphones, but are about to be able toBuy one. So Apple should make sure that these people are buying iphones, not other handsets. But the problem is that even if it wants to, Apple cannot start a price war in China. Like other imported goods, the iphone needs to be levied on import tariffs, which pushes up the price of mobile phones and makes it impossible to compete with homegrown handset makers such as Millet, which has launched smartphones priced at only $100 trillion. Even if Apple launches a 250-dollar smartphone-a price that will slash its profits-most Chinese consumers will still opt for cheaper brands. In addition, most cheap domestic smartphones use the Open-source Android operating system developed by Google, which has a large and still expanding application and gaming market that is particularly attractive to the Chinese market. So even if Apple succeeds in competing on its price with homegrown handsets, many consumers are still reluctant to give up on Android and switch to Apple's Open-source operating platform. Most importantly, the introduction of cheap handsets could undermine Apple's most important asset: its brand image. The reason why imported luxury goods are so popular in China is partly because they are expensive; for a Chinese consumer, owning an iphone can be a showcase for a cheap smartphone. "The launch of cheap handsets in China is a bad idea for Apple – it will destroy its reputation as a luxury brand," said blogger Charlie Caster. "If more Chinese suddenly can afford an iphone, the product will instantly lose the favor of the Chinese elite – and the number and influence of these people is growing." So why does Apple spend its energy on making a cheap iphone and selling it to the Chinese? Brand loyalty is the main reason. Loyal consumers of Apple's products will buy the company's newest product anyway; for them, high-end handsets like the Samsung Galaxy series have no appeal. And, as Custer put it, consumers who opt out of the iphone 5C will find that they are "behind two generations of phones" in feature and technology, so they are more likely to buy an iphone 6 phone. Apple certainly wants to increase its appeal in China: if not, it will not spend time negotiating with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile operator. But Apple is willing to wait for the Chinese market to embrace Apple rather than take the initiative to embrace the Chinese market. China's economic growth has brought hundreds of millions of of people into the middle class, and many have become richer, at least to the extent that they can afford to buy Apple products. So by introducing a relatively expensive iphone 5C handset, Apple hopes that the type of consumer-not the number-can play a decisive role. (Compile/Chenxin)