The excitement surrounding Apple's iPhone never ends, nor do the rumors. Many a stories have been floating around about a cheaper version of the iPhone and now The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple may release a low-cost iPhone later this year.

Citing unnamed sources, the report said Apple is considering a paradigm shift in its corporate strategy as its dominance in the smartphone market seems to be slowly slipping down. Although the Cupertino tech giant has been rumored to be planning such a device for almost a decade now, the report says the project is progressing now and would yield a result anytime later this year.

"The cheaper phone could resemble the standard iPhone, with a different, less-expensive body," a source was quoted in the WSJ report.  Apple may lower the product cost by replacing the aluminium housing which is used in iPhone 5 with a different shell made of polycarbonate plastic. Some of the other parts are expected to be recycled from older iPhone models. However, the report said that Apple could still choose to cancel the plan.

The WSJ report follows a similar story by Digitimes which said the less-expensive smartphone is aimed for the emerging markets. According to the report, the device will feature a larger display than that of iPhone 5 and will have a brand new exterior design.

Apple is under tremendous pressure to slash the iPhone prices to make the popular device more affordable after Google's Android powered devices are eating up its market share. According to a recent IDC report, Apple's market share fell from a peak of 23 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 14 percent in the third quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, Samsung's market share jumped from 8.8 percent in the third quarter of 2010 to 31.3 percent in Q3 of 2012.