i phone same price

iPhone to cost the same as last iPhone- happy or sad news 

Those hoping for a cheaper iPhone -- or dreading the possibility of a price hike -- can stand down, according to a new report that claims Apple will stick to its tried and true pricing structure.

In a report today, 9to5Mac posts a "parts code matrix" for the upcoming handset that sports the same $199 to $399 prices that have been in place since the iPhone 4S last year. The outlet says these prices and storage capacities will stay the same in the jump to the next iPhone, which is dubbed the N42.

The cost of a carrier-subsidized iPhone 4S has gone down a bit since its release. Retailers, most notably Target, trimmed the price by $25 back in March. Sprint upped the ante last month, cutting the price by $50 at first, then doubling that to a $100 gift card a few weeks later. Apple itself was also rumored to be matching prices with Sprint and any other carrier partners at its own retail stores.

The pricing rumor comes at a time when Apple's competitors have become more aggressive with the pricing of their flagship smartphones. That includes Motorola, which this week debuteda high-end $99 Android-based smartphone that buyers can get for free under certain circumstances. There's also Nokia's Lumia 900, which debuted at $100, a price Nokia halved to $50 in mid-July.