Apple has announced an event for March 21 leading to speculation that a smaller version of the iPhone will be unveiled.

The company often uses these events to surprise and delight the tech world by announcing new products into the Apple family.

It has long been thought that Apple was looking to diversify its iPhone portfolio after the success of the + versions of its iPhones.

While Apple is generally quite hush-hush about its product unveilings there has even been speculation about the creation of a cheaper iPhone to boost sales in developing markets, notably China which has been a huge growth territory for the Cupertino-based company.

A cheaper iPhone?

The iPhone’s popularity in China and in other territories for that matter has been largely because of its quality. The iPhone is seen to be a status symbol based in part on its high cost. A cheaper iPhone could potentially do well but it could also disrupt the Apple brand. Apple’s stock may well be upon the announcement of its latest event but the market could react badly to the idea of a cheaper or scaled down iPhone.

Déjà vu?

 
You could be forgiven for thinking we have heard this all before. Remember the iPhone 5c experiment? Yes, this was Apple’s attempt at a cheaper iPhone and it was a largely unsuccessful experiment. While the 5c was not quite plastic fantastic it wasn’t quite iPhone either.

What stands Apple products up against the rest of its competitors is build quality. Some things just shouldn’t be compromised on, even it comes at a more premium price. Apple and the iPhone don’t sit in the lower end of the market. In fact, Apple products are so far away from the low end of the market they probably can’t see it from their high vantage point. A cheaper iPhone, even for emerging markets would be a mistake.

Obviously, this is all just speculation because, in truth, we don’t really know what will be announced at the event. It might just blow us all away and leave us wanting one whatever that ‘one’ is. That is the special magic that only Apple has.

Luckily it isn’t long to wait to see what they have under their sleeve.