needs both low-cost iPhone and iPhablet to stay ahd of curve

Although managed to surprise investors with better-than-expected iPhone sales, some observers see a more daunting future for the flagship smartphone.’s global smartphone marketshare may have fallen by some estimates to as low as fourteen percent amid incrsing pressure from rivals seeking higher margins and more sales.Strategy Analytics describes the iPhone being“trapped in a pincer movement”between Android cos and high-end monster with five-inch screens. In other words, as iPhone competitors that churn out inexpensive handsets incrsingly march toward the mid-range in hopes of gaining more profit, ’s high-end rivals are now moving toward the middle, seeking incrsed sales…Neil Mawston, executive director of Strategy Analytics, advises (viaTechCrunch) to go after both ars: growth and volume.“’s first priority should be apremium-tier phabletwith a five-inch screen because that is where the largest new revenue pool is loed,”Mawston said.That would shore up some of ’s profit loss to , according to the analyst. also needs to offer iPhoneto prevent continued loss of customers to less-expensive alternatives, he adds.IDC reports that handseendors shipped 237.9 million units in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the 156.2 million units shipped a yr ago,“This represents 52.3 percent yr-over-yr-growth, the highest annual growth rate in five quarters,”IDC noted.“Second quarter shipments were up 10.0 percent when compared to the 216.3 million units shipped in 1Q13″.At the same time, the iPhone’s growth slowed to twenty percent in the June quarter.
Chart viaGeekwire.Looking past the - duopoly, IDC said that“clrly the competition refuses to be shut out altogether,”reminding us that posted its second-lowest yr-over-yr iPhone growth rate in almost four yrs, having sold31.2 million i in the June quarter,compared to 26 million in the yr-ago quarter.The resrch firm thinks a lower-cost iPhone will revert the trend.“’s growth is likely to accelerate globally assuming it launches a lower-cost iPhone and continues to penetrate prepaid markets in the quarters to come,”IDC speculates.Others don’t see the urcy to find another profitable device.
Plastic iPhone s are cropping up all over Asia.“Despite concerns of premium tier saturation, both and were able to deliver better than expected results in the second quarter,”reminds ABI Resrchsenior analyst Michael Morgan.ABI estimates ’s market share (14.6 percent) dropped to its lowest point since the third quarter of 2011, largel due to the“success of the Galaxy S4 launch and the continued growth of low cost and mass market smartphone shipments”.However, Morgan agrees with Mawston that future smartphone competition will be for the middle ground. He spoke of“fierce competition”between price-conscious smartphone makers looking for higher gross margins along with high-end smartphone manufacturers eying continued growth prospects available in mid-tier products.For now, is content offering the older iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S asinexpensive starter i, a tactic that so far has been relatively successful.But don’t let this fool you. Despite the seeming complacency, is not stupid: hence continued rumors of alow-cost iPhonppring this Fall.