Budget iPhone Price Tags Surface as Mass Production Begins?

If until several days ago everybody was talking about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5S (name tag not yet officially confirmed), it seems like the tables have turned as a new wave of rumors and leaks regarding the budget iPhone (aka iPhone Light) have surfaced on the World Wide Web during the weekend.

We’ve seen what allegedly is the (green) back panel of the affordable iPhone in a leaked picture and we were surprised by how cheap (as far as build quality goes) it looked. To add insult to injury, Pegatron’s CEO (which is rumored to manufacture the device) has recently been heard saying that the cheap iPhone won’t be so cheap after all.

If you’re interested in finding out just how much will the budget iPhone set you back, we have new info for you, right after the break.

Sonny Dickson, the man behind a lot of Apple related leaks (like several alleged iPhone 5S parts and what seems to be an iPad Mini 2 prototype) is back at it again. This time, Sonny has tweeted what he claims to be the budget iPhone price tags:

“iPhone – 16GB – $349
iPhone – 32GB – $449
iPhone – 64GB – $549”

We think its safe to assume that these are “unsubsidized” price tags.

Right now, the cheapest unlocked iPhone that can be bought directly from Apple’s Online Store is the 8GB iPhone 4 which will set you back $450.

Since according to this rumor, the 16GB model of the budget iPhone will cost $100 less, it’s probably safe to assume that the smartphone will be similar to the iPhone 3GS in terms of processing power (maybe slightly more powerful if Apple will indeed cut costs by going with cheaper build materials).

All good and well, but what about the release date of the so called “cheap” iPhone. Well, according to some reports from the underground, the device has just entered mass production which actually makes sense considering the amount of recent leaks.

What do you think of the budget iPhone? Would you be interested if it will look like in the recently leaked images? What about the rumored price tags? Is Apple playing it smart trying to cover the “under $400” market segment (remember, we’re talking unsubsidized phones)? Let us know in the comments section.

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