Steve Jobs loved the 3.5-inch iPhone 4, and once even said that no one would buy big smartphones that competed with the iPhone 4 in 2010. Now it's 2013 and yesterday Apple introduced 2 new 4-inch iPhones. The iPhone 5 with its 4-inch screen turned out to be a very successful product, but Jobs was right: for many, a 3.5-inch smartphone is really a tidbit.
Yesterday Apple showed two new iPhone models: 5C and 5S, at the same time « hanging on a nail» iPhone 5. Now, if you want to buy a 4-inch device, your choice is limited between a polycarbonate colorful 5C and a solid iPhone 5S. At the same time, the 3.5-inch iPhone 4S model remained on sale.
iPhone 4S can be purchased for free along with a 2-year contract from many mobile operators. This should breathe life into the old iPhone model, which has been produced and sold for 2 years. Have you ever heard of HTC continuing to sell its Thunderbolt model? But the iPhone 4S remains one of the best-selling smartphones in the world, and even managed to outlive its successor. In addition, Apple continues to support this model at the software level.
This is not the first time in Apple's practice when it kills a more modern model of its device, while leaving an older model on sale. This is exactly what the Cupertinos did with the 3rd generation iPad, leaving the iPad 2 on sale with 16 GB of memory on board.
How well do you think the iPhone 4S will sell? Will it remain as popular? Leave your answers in the comments.
