Low-end iOS and the future of those devices world-wide
How long can the iPhone 3GS last as the baseline model for iOS evolution?
As Apple pushes its smartphone vision into new markets, it makes sense to keep old manufacturing lines alive using increasingly cheaper components. Yes, it has hit the "$0" price point in the US, but the nominal subsidies there are quite high compared to other carriers worldwide. Unlocked, I note that it costs $375 in the US, £319 in the UK. A sampling of other world markets shows the closest to the US price being in Malaysia, with 1199 ringgits converting to 389 USD. So there's plenty of room for "cheaper," especially when considering pay-as-you-go pricing.
On the hardware side, the biggest constraint seems to be the 256MB RAM, but that's in line with the original iPad, introduced 10 months later. (That model is no longer sold as new, but seems likely to receive further long-term hardware support.)
So I expect the iPhone 3GS to be around for a long time, getting cheaper with every introduction of a new iPhone model, yet receiving iOS updates.
What got me thinking about this was the notion of Apple (re-)introducing a cheap iPod touch as an ideal remote for driving the AppleTV. I assume that means treating it as a full member of the iOS ecosystem, so it has to conform with the baseline hardware. That hardware looks an awful lot like the iPod touch (3rd generation), which has only been released in a 32GB and 64GB storage configuration. Otherwise, it's equivalent to the iPhone 3GS, which was current at the time of its release. It's a step down from the current iPod touch models: no retina display, no gyroscope, no FaceTime. The model was introduced in September 2009, and discontinued a year later.
How cheap could such hardware be sold? Right now, the limiting factor is the price of the iPod nano. At $129 for 8GB, $149 for a 16GB nano, a cheaper iPod touch would clash with that. But if we understood Apple to be unafraid of cannibalizing itself, and deft enough at marketing to introduce a third generation iPod touch with 8GB storage properly, could we imagine a $99 device? (That certainly puts the likely margins on the $375 iPhone 3GS into perspective.) Cheap screen, cheap system-on-a-chip, older battery technology… why not an "iPod remote"?
