CUPERTINO – Apple has asked assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry company to begin shipping both a new high-end and low-end iPhone in early September, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
The shipping plans suggest that two new iPhone models could be launched as soon as next month, pointing to a strategy shift as Apple attempts to regain its momentum in the smartphone market. The company hasn’t previously announced different iPhone models around the same time.
The shipping plans suggest that two new Apple iPhone models could be launched as soon as next month.
Apple’s suppliers in Asia started mass-producing components in June for both a standard iPhone featuring a metal casing and a lower-cost version, people who work at those companies said.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
The company has been unveiling new iPhones in the fall since 2011. It is planning a launch event on Sept. 10, according to AllThingsD, a news outlet that, like The Wall Street Journal, is owned by News Corp. It isn’t clear whether Apple would launch both iPhones the same day or initially opt to showcase just one device.
New iPhones in the past have become available about a week and a half after their unveiling.
Competitors are planning to ramp up pressure by launching their own bevy of products around the same time.
Samsung Electronics, the largest smartphone maker in the world by shipments, is planning an event on Sept. 4, during which it plans to launch a new large-screen “Galaxy Note” phablet and a smartwatch called “Galaxy Gear,” people familiar with the matter have said.
The activity adds to Apple’s challenges. The company has been facing tough competition from Samsung and other firms making smartphones based on Google Inc.’s Android software. A perception that Apple’s pace of innovation has slowed, along with some uncharacteristic missteps by the company, helped push the company’s shares down more than 40 percent in the span of six months from all-time highs of more than $700 in September. The company’s shares have since rebounded somewhat, currently at $509.66, up 1.5 percent.
In years past, Apple saw spectacular expansion, with its smartphone unit shipments increasing by more than 50 percent over previous year quarters throughout the company’s fiscal 2010, and all but one quarter in 2011 and 2012. This year, however, the company has struggled to maintain that momentum; shipments rose 7 percent in the quarter ended in March, though they rose 20 percent in the period ended in June.
Some market watchers are optimistic about prospects for the lower-priced iPhone.
