SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Apple's rumored low-cost iPhone may be offered without the Siri voice assistant, a U.S analyst says, taking a position at the bottom of the iPhone lineup.
Introduced in 2011, Apple's voice assistant doesn't support earlier iPhone models like the iPhone 4 and 3GS, suggesting Apple may retire the iPhone 4 model and replace it as its low-end offering with the upcoming budget phone some have dubbed iPhone 5C, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told CNET.
Munster didn't offer a reason why Apple might choose to drop Siri, although it could be necessary if the iPhone 5C is using a lower-power processor chip as a cost-cutting measure.
In an investors note released Monday night, Munster said he believed the 5C, rumored for September, would sell for $300 in an unlocked, unsubsidized version.
The low-cost iPhone could steal around 25 percent of sales from its more expensive, bigger brother, he predicted, lowering his previous estimate of a 50 percent cannibalization rate.
