Apple's rumoured low-cost smartphone, now referred to as iPhone Lite, isn't cheap at all, more so it will not carry a $US99 price, as earlier suggested, on its rumoured release date, new reports said.

This week, Pegatron CEO T.H. Tung debunked talks that the budget will hit the market later this year with a price mark lower than $100. "The price is still high," Mr Tung is reported by Apple Insider as saying, citing reports from Japanese blog site MacOtakara.

Pegatron teams up with Foxconn in building the 2013 Apple flagship, with the former focused mostly in producing the iPhone Lite.

This iPhone version, according to the Pegatron executive, is more of a mid-range handset or far-removed from the price-sensitive device pictures by some analysts in earlier reports. Its target market is virtually the same as that of the regular iPhone.

The only distinction, according to BGR News, is the Lite's apparent intention of supporting the supposed client-base of the iPhone 5 and its successor, the iPhone 5S. The main goal is to expand on Apple's existing market presence - giving more options to iPhone buyers.

But this iPhone alternative will not be a cheap buy, hence calling it the 'Cheaper iPhone' is a misnomer, said the Pegatron chief, adding that as a full-pledged smartphone the handset offers more premium features compared to dirt-cheap rivals that are branded as feature phones.

Initial reports have indicated that Apple is gearing the iPhone Lite to markets where its presence is currently weak and where Samsung, Nokia and local device makers hold sway.

The Lite is seen as scaled-down version of the iPhone 5S but bearing most of the specs associated the iPhone 5 replacement. The components inside would represent a slight downgrade of what the 5S will flash later this year, doing away with Retina but likely sporting a dual-core CPU.

Reports also pointed to a curved form-factor with thicker profile than that of the iPhone 5 with a screen-size of between 3.5-inch and 4-inch.

On its release date, pegged on September, the iPhone Lite will likely carry a price tag lower than that of the iPhone 5's $US199 with contract. Unlocked, it will retail between $300 and $400, maintaining its mid-range market bracket.