Budget Apple iPhone 5C to cost from £230 and launch in UK in November says analyst

There are shed loads of rumours now about the potential launch of a budget iPhone – which has become known among bloggers as the iPhone 5C.

Now however an analyst has stuck his neck out and not only given the 5C a price but also a launch date.

KGI analyst Ming-chi Kuo says that the iPhone will cost between £230 and £320 for the SIM free model. It is at the upper end of that scale then it doesn’t really qualify for a mid range handset. It would still be a pretty much a premium phone.

Kuo said that the “iPhone 5C to replace iPhone 5, while iPhone 4S goes on. We’ve learned that the iPhone 5 line will be terminated from 4Q13, while the iPhone 4S line will carry on. From this, we infer that iPhone 5C is launched to replace iPhone 5. In other words, the 5C model will be positioned as midrange. We forecast its retail price to be US$400-$500 (£230-£320).

Kuo also thinks that the new mobile will debut in China first with the rest of the world following later in the year. He suggest that China will get the handset in October and that the rest of the world including the UK will see it later in Q4 – which in theory means late October/early November.

Meanwhile 9to5 Mac which broke the Kuo story is also saying that some sources think that the new Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will be ion the stores in late September.

It says

Both of Apple’s next-generation iPhones will rollout in Japan on Friday, September 20th, according to a report from Nikkei. With the “iPhone 5S” and plastic iPhone scheduled to be introduced at a September 10th media event, a September 20th launch is not a bit surprising based on past history.

More here.