- Phil Schiller quoted as saying: 'Cheap smartphones' will 'never be the future of Apple's product'
- Apple rarely addresses rumors about upcoming products, which often invite intense speculation
By Jill Reilly
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Fuelling rumours: Apple's head of marketing Phil Schiller
Apple has tried to dampen speculation over a 'cheap' version of the iPhone costing $100.
A Chinese newspaper today printed an interview with Apple's head of marketing saying that 'cheap smartphones' will 'never be the future of Apple's product.'
Phil Schiller's comments to the Shanghai Evening News follow reports this week from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg that plans for a cheaper iPhone were in development.
Both regular organisations independently confirmed with their sources that Apple was working on a cheaper iPhone built from lower quality parts - in the past both have reported genuine leaks about forthcoming Apple products.
Apple rarely addresses rumours about upcoming products, which often invite intense speculation.
'Every product that Apple creates, we consider using only the best technology available,' said Mr Schiller who is Apple's second most powerful executive, after chief executive Tim Cook.
'This includes the production pipeline, the Retina display, the unibody design, to provide the best product to the market.'
The newspaper reported that Mr Schiller spoke about the trend of smartphones in the region saying 'At first, non-smartphones were popular in the Chinese market, now cheap smartphones are more popular and non-smartphones are out.'
But he rejected calls for Apple to make a 'cheap' iPhone, saying that 'despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple's products.
'In fact, although Apple's market share of smartphones is just about 20 per cent, we own the 75 per cent of the profit.'
Future plans: Apple rarely addresses rumors about upcoming products, which often invite intense speculation
Grassroots: Apple's CEO Tim Cook, right, talks with a staff at an Apple store in Beijing's Wangfujing shopping district during his visit in China this week
China is Apple's second-largest market and an area of intense focus for the iPad maker as it tries to sustain a rip-roaring pace of growth.
Chief Executive Tim Cook flew to China this week for at least the second time in 12 months, meeting partners and government officials.
On Thursday, he called on the chairman of the country's largest wireless carrier, China Mobile, raising hopes that a long-awaited deal between the two can proceed.
In an interview with the official Xinhua News Agency, Cook said he was confident China will someday become the company's single largest market.
This morning global news wire Reuters retracted a report based on the comments made in the Chinese newspaper.
Their copy was based on the Shanghai Evening News article, but that original story was later updated with 'substantial changes to its content,' which prompted the significant retraction.
The reason is still unclear.
Strike a pose: Mr Cook poses for a picture with a customer at an Apple store in Beijing during his visit in China
Today two leading analysts claimed Apple will launch five new products in the next 12 months, including its highly anticipated TV set.
Analysts Gene Munster and Douglas Clinton of Piper Jaffray say the firm will launch a plethora of new products in a bid to keep its position as the world's biggest company.
However, the analysts say the new gadgets could be just the beginning of a major change in Apple's products in 2014.
The pair told Fortune magazine 2013 'will set the stage for bigger changes in the product lineup in 2014 and beyond.'
Apple is believed to develop products several years in advance, with its design team, led by British-born Sir Jonathan Ive, producing hundreds of prototype products each year.
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