Here's What Apple REALLY Said About A Cheap iPhone (We Think)

Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller did an interview with a Chinese newspaper wherein he appeared to address the speculation about a cheaper iPhone.

If you can believe it, there appears to be some confusion about what Schiller really said.

Initially, everyone was under the impression Schiller said, "Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products."

Then this morning, Reuters pulled its coverage of the Chinese paper's interview. It said there were updates to the story. Reuters says Apple asked the Chinese paper to amend its story.

This afternoon, Reuters followed up with a new story based on the interview.

Apparently in the new version of the story, Schiller says, "We will not discuss plans for any future products." He also says, according to Reuters, Apple will focus on making "the best products" and "never blindly pursue market share."

That sounds more like Apple!

Why are we, and Reuters, so focused on this translation problem? Because there are multiple reports that Apple is going to try to make a cheaper iPhone to address emerging markets. If Schiller was saying pursuing a cheap phone is not in Apple's future, it could knock down those reports.

The new, blander quotes leave wiggle room for Apple to do whatever it wants.

Of course, Apple has never been particularly concerned with doing what it says it's going to do. So, if Schiller had said the cheap phone wasn't Apple's future, it didn't mean it wasn't something Apple would do. It would just mean Apple would have to have a clever spin on its less expensive phone. And knowing Apple, that was going to happen anyway.

We can promise you that if Apple releases a new phone that costs less than the current phone, it's not going to pitch it on price. It will be something else.

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