The iOS 7 release date may be unofficially set for September 10 alongside the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, but a recent report suggests that iOS 7 for the 5C could be significantly scaled back. A curtailed iOS 7 like this isn’t shocking as the iPhone 5C is thought to be a lower costing, budget-friendly handset thought it looks like those who opt to purchase it could be without such signature Apple features as Siri.
According to Apple Insider, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster foresees Apple treating the iPhone 5C much the way it has with the iPhone 4s, a version of Apple’s smartphone so outdated that it’s likely to be discontinued, in that the Cupertino electronics manufacturer will likely abandon Siri the way it did with updates to the following-generation iPhone 4S.
The only issue is, Munster’s logic is flawed. As Apple Insider counters, “Munster cites the lack of Siri on the iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4 in his iPhone 5C prediction, but fails to mention the service was never part of iOS until Apple incorporated the feature in the iPhone 4S. Apple purchased Siri, which was formerly an iOS app, in April 2010, ultimately baking the technology into iOS 5 over a year later.”
Whether or not Apple chooses to include Siri or not in the iPhone 5C, or other iOS features for that matter, is still up in the air. What’s important to understand, though, is that Apple has to make some sort of concession on its new affordable device, otherwise what’s the point? Apple is not in the business of making beautiful, seamless, user-friendly gadgets and selling them on the cheap. Steve Jobs, rest in peace, would turn over in his grave if he saw two iPhones launch in September, nearly identical, and one go for half of what it’s worth.
Sure, Apple has ditched its pristine anodized aluminum casing for the iPhone 5C in favor of a colorful spectrum of neon plastic but there has to be more scaling back. iOS features like Siri could be strikingly absent from the new device, but unlikely for the reasons Munster asses. Rather, if Apple decides to scale back iOs 7 on the 5C, it will be for the sake of providing a suitable smartphone for those unable to afford the 5S, not because of past coincidental habits.
There’s been no disclosure yet on what’s to be expected under the hood or anything in terms of price points, but keep an eye out for mid-to-high level specs and a roughly $300 cost without a contract subsidy, which with the standard 2-year agreement could be as low as $99.
