Apple is always very secretive about its new products. The company doesn't want anyone else revealing its products prior to the official release, and it tries to enforce secrecy on its suppliers, partners and carriers, as well.But this week, an Apple partner in China decided it couldn't wait on Apple any longer. China Telecom has, it appears, released the first official images of the iPhone 6.
Apple has been known to take action against those who release information on Apple products without authorization, and carriers and other partners generally go out their way to keep Apple happy. But the Chinese market is very important to Apple, and China Telecom too important to that market, so there is probably little Apple will or can do.On a related note, there are rumors that while the unsubsidized price of the new iPhone 6 will be in line with previous iPhones, in the $650 to $700 range for the base model (and up to $850 - $900 for the 64 GB version), Apple will enforce a a higher minimum selling price for carrier subsidized phones. Does this reflect an attempt to deal with possible supply problems with the new device? A higher price for the iPhone 6 might motivate more buyers to purchase the readily available 5s, but it could also push more buyers to competing brands.With the 4.7" iPhone priced at $650 - $700, it's expected that the 5.5" iPhone phablet will have an unsubsidized price of near $800. The Galaxy S4 is likely to undercut that by a substantial margin, so it will be interesting to see how many buyers will choose the very expensive iPhone.
Apple has been known to take action against those who release information on Apple products without authorization, and carriers and other partners generally go out their way to keep Apple happy. But the Chinese market is very important to Apple, and China Telecom too important to that market, so there is probably little Apple will or can do.On a related note, there are rumors that while the unsubsidized price of the new iPhone 6 will be in line with previous iPhones, in the $650 to $700 range for the base model (and up to $850 - $900 for the 64 GB version), Apple will enforce a a higher minimum selling price for carrier subsidized phones. Does this reflect an attempt to deal with possible supply problems with the new device? A higher price for the iPhone 6 might motivate more buyers to purchase the readily available 5s, but it could also push more buyers to competing brands.With the 4.7" iPhone priced at $650 - $700, it's expected that the 5.5" iPhone phablet will have an unsubsidized price of near $800. The Galaxy S4 is likely to undercut that by a substantial margin, so it will be interesting to see how many buyers will choose the very expensive iPhone.