Yesterday it was a rumor and today it’s official (although no press release has been issued). The 8GB iPhone 5C is now available in few countries around the world, including the UK, Australia and China. In the UK, the unlocked, SIM-free unit is selling for £429, which is £40 cheaper than the 16GB model. In that sense TheVerge believes this model will cost somewhere around $499 in the U.S.
Aside from the different amount of built-in storage, this remains the same iPhone 5C under the hood. Its specs include a 4-inch Retina screen, Apple’s A6 processor, and an 8-megapixel camera on the back. As far as we (don’t) know, the new, lower-cost iPhone 5C could replace the iPhone 4S soon, though we would have to assume Apple will want to clear its [iPhone 4S] inventory first.
The way I see it, the iPhone 5C is still expensive to help the Cupertino-based company get more customers in the emerging markets. Perhaps when the new iPhone (iPhone 6) launches later this year, its price will go further south, making it affordable to more users. We’ll see…