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S$848 for ‘low cost’ iPhone 5C in Singapore

Pricing for new iPhones. (Online screengrab)

Apple’s new low-cost iPhone 5C will go on sale for S$848 with no contract, according to newly released prices on Apple Singapore’s website.

This comes a day after the two new models were unveiled in the US. The 16GB version will retail at S$848, while the top-end model iPhone 5S will go for S$988.

SingTel, M1 and Starhub have yet to release subsidised pricing list for the new iPhones.

Shoppers can already pre-order the iPhone 5C, which comes in a plastic case instead of metal, starting Friday, 13 September, and have them delivered starting 20 September.

Those buying the iPhone 5S, which boasts a fingerprint sensor, can also order them starting 20 September.

Debate over new iPhones

But the big debate is over the price of the new supposedly "low cost" iPhone 5C.

Readers’ comments on Yahoo Singapore Newsroom’s Facebook page question the price tag.

“How is $848 low cost?” said Facebook user Joseph Wong Meng Choi.

Others have also taken to Twitter to question the pricing.

User @JoelVRomero tweeted, “How can a ‘low end plastic’ iPhone 5C sell for #848 in Singapore? #justsaying.”

Another user @mrlx said, “I don’t get how iPhone5C is making its entry to the lower end of the smartphone market with a price tag of $848.”

Several analysts have also weighed on the debate, calling the new iPhone 5C as “being too costly” for emerging markets.

According to them, Apple “missed an opportunity” to drive sales of the low-end smartphone in Asia, where brands like Samsung and China’s Huawei have taken the lead.

Apple shares slid by 5.4 per cent on Wednesday night, hitting a month low of US$467.71 (S$592.45).