Apple iPhone 5C may not be selling all that well after all as new reports from Cupertino’s supply chain indicate that the company has reduced iPhone 5C orders by half following weak demand.
According to CTechCN, which is known for its accurate leaks, Apple has halved the production orders to 150,000 units per day from 300,000 units. The site doesn’t cite any particular reason for the reduction in order quantities, but it should be pretty obvious.
Apple designed iPhone 5C to specifically cater to the budget-conscious markets like China, but somewhere along the way the pricing of iPhone 5C caught up with its premium counterpart – iPhone 5S. The price difference between the 5C and 5S isn’t attractive and a launch price of $725 in China was comparatively way higher than prices of local smartphones. Further the not-so-appealing price tag has led to a decline in iPhone 5C gray market pricing and is available for mere $500.
Whatever the reports may indicate and despite the alleged underperformance, it is definitely way too early to rule out iPhone 5C. If one looks at the iPad Mini situation last year there is a huge resemblance as it took some time before demands grew and people accepted the idea of a miniature iPad. iPhone 5C may be going through a similar phase. But, the other side of the coin can’t be ruled out either as iPhone 5C actually doesn’t come cheap and according to critics and consumers it looks like a ‘toy’ rather than an iPhone.
Apple did reveal that it managed to sell well over 9 million units of the new iPhones, but didn’t break it down to individual model specific sales figures. According to estimates, it was the iPhone 5S which garnered most of the attention and sales in tune of over 5.5-6 million units as compared to 3-3.5 million units of iPhone 5C.
Cupertino is all set to launch its iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C in 50 new markets and it remains to be seen how budget conscious markets like India react to the iPhone 5C.
