Time and again we have heard rumors that Apple is working on a low cost iPhone. According to recent analyst reports, the company’s next two iPhones will go in to production from next month and are likely to be released in September. One of them is supposed to be the low cost iPhone, and speculation about it has fired up even more as Pegatron goes on a hiring spree to increase its workforce by 40% in Q2 2013, reports Reuters. Having a cheaper iPhone in the market would aid Apple in expanding its sales base to lower income buyers in various markets, such as India and China.
Arthur Liao, an analyst at Fubon Securities, says that Pegatron’s operating margin will be aided by the fact that the low cost iPhone will reportedly have a plastic casing. This casing is easier to manufacture than the iPhone 5’s metal casing, hence ensuring a good and solid yield rate. Pegatron’s consumer electronics division already brings in over 40% of its revenue by manufacturing iPad mini, and only yesterday the manufacturer forecasted a revenue dip off the back of weakening iPad mini demand.