Apple developing low-end iPhone

Apple Inc. is developing a low-end iPhone at a time when its smartphone market share has dipped, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A cheaper iPhone could resemble the existing model and launch later this year. Apple could look to cut costs by using inexpensive materials, such as polycarbonate plastic, as well as recycled parts from other iPhones.

Apple during the third quarter of 2012 shipped 14.6 percent of worldwide smartphones, down from a peak of 23 percent in 2011 and early 2012.