The Indian edition of the Economic Times is reporting that Apple has restarted production of the iPhone 4 in three markets where the company has had the most trouble with iPhone sales in India, Brazil and Indonesia.
All three countries are considered strongholds for Android as local manufacturers and manufacturers such as Samsung dominate sales volume, owing to low-cost phone models compared to the cheapest iPhone 5C and 5S, which routinely sell for up to $1000 USD in those countries. The report also cites unnamed senior executives as basis for the confirmation, though Apple has yet to comment officially.
According to the report, Indian iPhone 4 shipments bear December 2013 manufacturing dates, though no visual proof is provided to back up the claim, while Apple has officially discontinued the 4 in favor of the 5C and 5S in the rest of the world and Indian pricing for the 5C starts at the equivalent of $870. Apple does not offer a current generation model at the upper limit of the Indian preferred market pricing of $478, or 30,000 rupees. Apple is said to be offering the new iPhone 4 shipments for $239, or 15,000 rupees as an attempt to stem the dominance of Android in the historically difficult markets.
Apple has been criticized over the years for not offering a low-cost version of the iPhone, and was most recently criticized with the release of the 5C, which was originally expected to be the long-awaited low-cost iPhone and ended up being a variant of the first iPhone 5 with a colored plastic bodyshell without the expected price reduction, as it’s priced at only $150 less than the lowest-priced 5S at $549.
