Cheaper iPhone 4 in the Works; Photos Leaked from Brazil Foxconn Factory

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It’s only a few days until Apple’s much-anticipated media announcement of its upcoming products. Whether it will be an iPhone 5 or a cheaper iPhone 4, we don’t know for sure yet. But sources from within Apple’s supply chain in Brazil say the cheaper iPhone 4 is real.

Most iPhones, iPads and other Apple products are made in China. However, Chinese OEMs are already expanding their reach by opening factories elsewhere. In particular, Foxconn has a factory in Brazil, which has been setup to develop iPhones and iPads.

Sources from within Foxconn’s Brazil outfit cited by Gizmodo have uncovered a new product line, sporting the model number N90A, but which looks just like the iPhone 4. This means that Apple is most likely to still be developing that cheap iPhone 4 or the so-called iCloud Phone, which was earlier rumored to launch alongside the pricier iPhone 5.

Launch or no launch, the Brazilian manufacturer is not likely to have these inexpensive iPhones available in time for the October 4 announcement, though. The spycam shot showed a “reprovado” mark, which translates to “disqualified.” Sources say the development of the phone met with some delays due to quality control issues.

The cheaper iPhone 4 version is rumored to focus on cloud-services, and is hence likely to have smaller storage (8 or 16GB). Rumors peg the price at $99.99 with contract and rebates.

With these rumored prices, will smartphone buyers be excited about a cheaper iPhone? The smartphone experience is changing, with many services focusing on a cloud platform, which does not require as much processing power and storage as local applications. With Apple gearing up for an international release of iCloud, will streaming media and online storage be the norm among smartphones?