Ex-Apple CEO: Apple Needs to Adapt, Sell a Cheaper iPhone

John Sculley, an American businessman who once served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Apple, has some advice for his former employer. The way Sculley sees it, Apple needs to "dramatically rethink" things and forge ahead with a low-cost iPhone model for emerging markets.

"Apple needs to adapt to a very different world," Sculley told Bloomberg in an interview. "As we go from $500 smartphones to even as low, for some companies, as $100 for a smartphone, you've got to dramatically rethink the supply chain and how you can make these products and do it profitably."


Sculley's not just speaking as an ex-Apple chief. He also served as President of PepsiCo from 1970-1977 before becoming an Apple boss, a position he held onto until leaving the company in 1993. At one point, he was the highest-paid executive in Silicon Valley, earning $2.2 million in 1987. As he notes on his website, Sculley has "been there, done that" and is more than willing to speak about his experience.

It was rumored earlier this month that Apple was indeed building a lower cost iPhone model to compete with Android. It was said the new iPhone would look similar to the iPhone 5, but with a "different, less expensive body," most likely constructed of polycarbonate plastic.

Apple's Phil Schiller tried to debunk the rumor, stating that lower cost iPhones would "never be the future of Apple products."