iPhone 5C Release Date Rumors, Specs, Price: Low Cost iPhone to Increase Apple Market Share in China By 19.3 Percent?

iPhone 5C Release Date Rumors, Specs, Price: Low Cost iPhone to Increase Apple Market Share in China By 19.3 Percent?

If you've been following rumors for the upcoming iPhone 6, expected to be released some time in September, you've probably heard of Apple's new budget iPhone rumors to be called the iPhone 5C or iPhone Light.

What once seemed like a far-fetched idea, the low-cost iPhone 5C is expected to make quite a splash once it's actually launched [rumored September release date*].

According to Morgan Stanley analyst, Katy Huberty, Apple could increase its market share in China by 19.3 percent if a $400 no-contract iPhone 5C is released by the end of 2013, making Apple the most popular smartphone seller in the country.

To do so, market insiders say that Apple will have to lower their price of their flagship phone and release an phone "for everyone" and not "just for the rich."

"One of our sources claims that Apple's iPhone prices remain too high for most mainland Chinese customers," iLounge editor Jeremy Horwitz wrote back in January. "The iPhone 5 hardware alone starts at $849 there, versus the iPhone 4 at $500, in a country where the average annual salary is around $3,000 per person. The source has said that mainland Chinese iPhone 5 sales are already tapering off as a result of the pricing, which is higher than in Hong Kong. A budget iPhone model would help sales in populous but underdeveloped countries to grow."

The release of a more cost-effective iPhone 5C could also help counter the piracy of Apple products that runs rampant in many China retailers.

As for when the new line of iPhones will be released several rumors are circulating the Internet. Chances are neither iPhone will be released before iOS 7, which has a projected September 18 release date.