Here’s Apple’s Next $135 Billion Market

By any means, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 is not a cheap piece of gadgetry. With a $649 contract-free price, the world’s best-selling handset is also top-of-the-line, boasting a sleek, clean glass and metal design. Because of it’s often prohibitively high price, the iPhone’s sales figures are largely carried by wealthier regions — North America, Europe, some elite parts of Asia, and Australia. However, analysts are forecasting that there is a smartphone market worth about $135 billion (in 2013) that Apple has not yet taken advantage of.

Countries like China and India are some of the most populated places on earth, offering companies a huge opportunity if they can break into the markets. Unfortunately, they are also some of the poorest — even some of the fairly well-off citizens of these countries wouldn’t be able to afford a $650 phone. However, the demand for smartphones still exists.

Fortunately, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will likely address the situation by offering a cheaper iPhone — an entry-level model, as it were. Some are predicting that a new version of the iPhone could be here as soon as June, though there has been no official word from Apple yet…