Amid of flurry of budget iPhone rumours, new concept images have hit the web suggesting Apple’s mooted mid-range handset could sport an early iMac esque design.
Crafted by designer Nickolay Lamm on behalf of MyVoucherCodes, the latest budget iPhone concepts have hinted that like the iMac G3 of distant memories, Apple could employ the use of translucent plastics in a bid to reduce costs and offer and visually appealing handset that is accessible to the masses.
With the iPhone 5 currently at the upper end of the smartphone market, eclipsed on price by few handsets other than the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, a number of reports have recently suggested that the upcoming, high-end iPhone 5S will line up alongside a new budget iPhone.
Tasked with making the iPhone brand and ecosystem available to a wider audience, stemming the rise in Android devices in the process, it has been suggested that “the entry-level iPhone will adopt a chassis mixed with plastic and metal, with the internal metal parts being able to be seen from outside through special design.”
Releasing the new budget iPhone concept into the wild, designer Lamm stated: “There are rumours that Apple, along with the iPhone 5S, will come out with a budget iPhone. One overlooked rumour is that the back case of the low cost iPhone will be translucent, like the iMac G3.”
Shown sporting the iconic green-blue hue of past iMac G3 models, the new budget iPhone concept designs fall in line with past claims that Apple will unveil a new smartphone in “6-8 colours,” a move previously expected to follow the varyingly coloured brushed metal form of the 2012 iPod touch.
Expanding on his concept, Lamm added: “The reason the iMac was made transparent was to make it seem less alien to consumers. Before the iMac, computers were all in a box shape and in gray color. The ability to see inside the computer made the device seem less mysterious and much more personal.
“We’ve gotten so used to our smartphones that we aren’t the least bit impressed with the technology that makes them work. The translucent material can do the same thing for the budget iPhone what it did for the iMac G3: open up our eyes as to the incredible advances in computing that have been made and make people excited about buying a phone again.”
Budget iPhone Rumours
Long the thing of much rumour and speculation, murmurings of a budget iPhone release first started circulating around the launch of the iPhone 5 and have only increased in number in the run up to the iPhone 5S release date.
According to recent word from industry analysts, “Apple is working to launch multiple new phones in the June/July time-frame this year. Specifically, [Apple] will launch the iPhone 5S and a more affordable but lower-end iPhone at the same time, in either late CYQ2 or early Q3.”
Amit Daryanani, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets added: “The low-end iPhone will have the same 4-inch form factor as the iPhone 5 but will have plastic casing and no retina display. With a lower price-point, [Apple] will be able to target a growing and important part of the Smartphone market (sub-$400 [£250] price-band).”
