A cheap iPhone? Shut your mouth, says Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, according to a new report. Despite rumors that were swirling earlier this week that the company would move toward the popular model of a cheaper smartphone, Schiller says that just ain’t gonna happen.

NextWeb cites an interview Schiller gave the Shanghai Evening News where he said that a cheaper iPhone will “never be the future of Apple products.”

As translated by NextWeb:

“At first, non-smartphones were popular in the Chinese market, now cheap smartphones are more popular and non-smartphones are out,” Schiller added later. “Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products. In fact, although Apple’s market share of smartphones is just about 20%, we own the 75% of the profit.”

One report from Bloomberg had predicted that Apple would sell a cheaper, smaller version of its popular phone this year in order to get a slice of sales in developing nations.

But what is the definition of cheap? Is slightly less costly still “cheap” even if it’s not as low as say, $50? Or does “cheap” entail a lower quality of materials and products?

It’s our guess that cheapness matters on both fronts so far as Apple sees it. If the company is going to continue to use “only the best technology available,” including “the production pipeline, the Retina display, the unibody design,” as Schiller noted, it would be pretty difficult to sell the iPhone for less than what it goes for now.

Here’s where the “well, we can only wait and see,” at least until the next round of rumors start up.

Schiller: Despite popularity of cheap smartphones, they won’t be the future of Apple’s products [NextWeb]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.