The rumors on the features of iPhone 5 have been around for a while, but the most important consideration is its price. Based on history, Apple has an experience on serving an affordable price for the newer iPhone generation. Even though there is no announcement from Apple yet, it is impossible for iPhone 5 to get a cheaper price than iPhone 4’s. With all the rumored brand new and high-end features, the price of iPhone 5 might even be more expensive than iPhone 3, iPhone 3gs and iPhone 4 on their first release dates.
Let us look at historical data. In 2007, the first iPhone was also a phenomenon just like today’s hype for iPhone 5. Before the launching date of the first iPhone, there were so many speculations on the smartphone including the price like today’s iPhone 5. It was launched with AT&T as the exclusive carrier. One of the memorable things that happened on the first iPhone release was the queue of people outside the Apple store. They were queuing several days before the release date. That time, the first iPhone was served in $499 for the 4GB version, $599GB for 8GB version and surprisingly $499 price for 16GB version. The second generation, iPhone 3G was sold in so much cheaper price with $299 for the 16GB iPhone and super cheap $199 for 8GB iPhone.
iPhone 4 was also a great phenomenon. It was sold in $499 for 16GB and $599 for 32GB version. One feature, that makes iPhone 4 different from the previous iPhone models, is the dual chip for GSM and CDMA, which is predicted to be the standard feature of iPhone.
Some experts said that the iPhone 5 will be around $199 for 8gb, $299 for 16gb and $399 for 32gb respectively. Still, there are some people who are predicting that the iPhone 5 will be sold as high as $399 for 8gb, $499 for 16gb and $599 for 32gb respectively. These prices will tie you up with a carrier and will put you under contract for two years, There are so many considerations that Apple should think about, including the competition with Android and the buying capacity of the consumers.
It has been reported that Apple has slowly been extending its reach to new carriers. There is some speculation that Apple will include new carriers for the iPhone 5. Some rumors have indicated T-Mobile will be included, especially with AT&T trying to buy them. Sprint will likely be offering the iPhone 5 with an unlimited data plan, which AT&T, and Verizon no longer offer.