RIP iPhone 5C: Apple may discontinue the colorful phone in 2015

By Malarie Gokey Published November 26, 2014

Apple iPhone 5C — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple’s iPhone 5C was the company’s first foray into the world of colorful, plastic phones. Since its release, another iPhone launch has come and gone without mention of Apple’s little experiment. While many thought Apple might continue the 5C line, it seems that is unlikely. A new report from Taiwan’s Industrial and Commercial Times says the iPhone 5C will be discontinued in 2015.

It’s the second report that’s surfaced in the past week to mention the end of Apple’s iPhone 5C. Noted KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently stated that Apple will stop making the iPhone 5C in 2015 once promotions on the handset end. The iPhone 4S will also go to the chopping block around the same time. Once these two older handsets are retired, every iPhone sold will come equipped with a Touch ID sensor for security.

Recommended Videos

Apple regularly streamlines its iPhone and iPad lineups by cutting out the weakest links shortly after new versions of each device are launched. Ending production of the iPhone 4S and 5C will also free up Apple’s production lines for manufacturing the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as well as other new products.

Currently, you can only buy an 8GB version of the iPhone 5C from Apple’s website for $450 unlocked or $0 on a two-year contract. Those who want more storage have to look to eBay and other sites. Based on the report, it sounds as though Apple may offer even better deals on the 5C in the future to clear out stock, so keep an eye out.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…

Mobile

Visual Intelligence has made the Camera Control on my iPhone 16 worth using

Using Visual Intelligence on an iPhone 16 Pro showing ChatGPT answer.

One of the big selling points of the iPhone 16 hardware is the Camera Control button. It’s a small physical button on the bottom right of the frame that also has some capacitive capabilities. With the initial launch of iOS 18, a single press launches your camera app of choice, and you can do half presses and sliding gestures to adjust camera settings. It’s a neat idea, but it has some flaws that prevent it from being a great shutter button.

But now we have iOS 18.2, and that brought a lot of new Apple Intelligence features to our phones, especially if you have an iPhone 16. With iOS 18.2, Apple finally added Visual Intelligence, a feature similar to Google Lens, but on iPhone.

Mobile

A new render teases the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s big redesign, and I’m torn

Leaked render of iPhone 17 Pro Max front glass and rear camera bar module.

With the iPhone 16 line, Apple made some big changes with the base models, while the iPhone 16 Pro versions looked identical to those from the past several years. But Apple appears to be making some very significant changes to the design of the iPhone 17 Pro Max — especially if these mock-up renders from a Russian YouTube channel, Wylsacom, are accurate.

The YouTube video shows that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will look nothing like its predecessors, according to the rumors that this mock-up is based on.

Mobile

The most common iPhone 16 problems (and how to fix them)

i created the perfect ios 18 control center iphone 16 2

Apple's latest iPhone 16 lineup packs in some exciting new features. The latest and greatest A18 chip brings the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus duo closer to their iPhone 16 Pro counterparts than they've been in years, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max gets bigger than ever with a 6.9-inch display and the thinnest bezels of any smartphone yet.

The entire iPhone 16 family is more in harmony than ever this year, as Apple seems to have abandoned the trend of artificially limiting features like the Dynamic Island and Action Button to its Pro models, only to bring them to the standard ones a year later. Instead, this year's marquee new feature, the Camera Control, can be found on all four models. Sure, there are plenty of things that are still exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, like the 120Hz ProMotion Display and 5x telephoto camera, but those at least feel like valid differentiators for a "Pro" model.