Analyst: Apple's Launch Of The 8GB iPhone 5c Internationally Is 'Ultimately Irrelevant'
March 19, 2014
The recent launch of the 8GB iPhone 5c and reintroduction of the iPad with Retina display will have little effect on Apple's sales during the next two quarters, according to one analyst.
In a note to investors, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says the changes announced by Apple earlier this week will have a “slight positive” benefit on the company. He added the low-end iPhone 5c is “unlikely to drive more significant upside,” according to AppleInsider.
The analyst concludes that Apple's latest move to lower pricing won’t match the success it found during the June 2013 quarter when it dropped the price of the iPhone 4 by 15 percent in emerging markets. This allowed Cupertino to beat iPhone unit expectations by 18 percent during that quarter.
Apple’s launch of the 8GB iPhone 5c is “ultimately irrelevant,” he said.
On Tuesday, Apple retired the iPad 2 worldwide, replacing it with the 16GB iPad with Retina display as the company’s entry-level 9.7-inch tablet. Apple had retired the fourth-generation iPad last fall to make way for the iPad Air. The 8GB iPhone 5c launched “internationally” in the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, and China.
See also: Op-Ed: Was Releasing An 8GB iPhone 5c A Good Move For Apple?