Report Reveals Apple Is Working on a Cheaper, Plastic-Backed iPhone

• BY CHRISTINA BONNINGTON

While the packaging may not be legit, it seems Apple’s purported cheap iPhone may be called the iPhone 5C. Photo: WeiPhone

The signs are all pointing to one thing: Apple is indeed working on a cheaper, plastic iPhone model for debut this fall. The most damning evidence thus far is a report from New York-based labor rights organization China Labor Watch detailing production of such an iPhone.

China Labor Watch investigated working conditions at Pegatron, one of Apple’s Chinese iPhone manufacturers and issued a report (.PDF) disclosing their findings. Inside, it made some curious references to a plastic iPhone — a product that doesn’t yet exist on the market:

Today’s work is to paste protective film on the iPhone’s plastic back cover to prevent it from being scratched on assembly lines. This iPhone model with a plastic cover will soon be released on the market by Apple.

The task is pretty easy, and I was able to work independently after a five-minute instruction from a veteran employee. It took around a minute to paste protective film on one rear cover. The new cell phone has not yet been put into mass production, so quantity is not as important. This makes our job more slow-paced than in departments that have begun mass production schedules.

A low-cost iPhone makes sense for Apple as it looks for new ways to grow its mobile hardware business, says Forrester analyst Charles Golvin.

“Producing a lower-cost model will enable more people in the world to afford an iPhone,” Golvin says in an email. “Even in developed markets like the U.S., with operators reducing subsidies, many consumers are experiencing sticker shock as they comprehend the true cost of a smartphone.”

Golvin says this approach is analogous to what Apple did with the iPod. Eventually, it developed a product lineup broad enough that anyone could find an iPod within their budget. If (or when) Apple debuts a lower cost iPhone model, Golvin expects the unsubsidized price to fall in the $299-$329 price range for an 8GB. By our own estimates here at WIRED, that would put the subsidized price somewhere at or below $100, which opens up the possibility that this cheaper iPhone would be made available for free with a new service contract on some carriers. Even if you’re buying one unsubsidized, $330 is a far cry from the $650 a full-price iPhone 5 would set you back.

The Wall Street Journal reported back in January that Apple was developing a low-priced iPhone that would feature a polycarbonate shell rather than the aluminum used in the current iPhone 5. Business Insider says it will be called the iPhone 5C, with the “C” potentially standing for “color” (though the public will no doubt read the C as “cheap”). A well-sourced story from iLounge also previously reported that Apple’s cheap iPhone would be called the iPhone 5C.

Over the past few months, a number of photos (most of questionable trustworthiness) have also surfaced supporting the idea that Apple is developing a plastic-backed iPhone. With photo “evidence,” it’s difficult to discern what could be the real thing, and what’s just a knockoff. But with that in mind, one shot reveals anarray of color options including yellow, blue, and green. Another likely fake photograph purportedly shows packaging for an iPhone labeled with “iPhone 5C.”

Apple’s Tim Cook has hinted on more than one occasion — most recently during its Q3 earnings call — that the company has great things in store for the fall and 2014. Apple has introduced new iPhone models in the fall rather than the summer since the iPhone 4S in 2011.