A new report claims that Apple has sent word to its iPhone 5c suppliers that it is cutting production of the just-released smartphone.
Earlier this year the rumor mill kicked into overdrive with the prediction of Apple finally releasing the highly rumored low-cost iPhone. Images of the polycarbonate-shelled smartphone seemed to leak on an almost weekly basis. We got to see what an iPhone would look like housed inside a less expensive case compared to the company's current flagship, the iPhone 5. As the year went on we learned more and more on what Tim Cook and company had in store for us with the so-called budget iPhone.
This smartphone has been a rumor for years; it was largely seen as Apple's way of competing with Android on the low-end, in an effort to beef up its smartphone market share especially against its biggest frenemy, Samsung. It appeared that Apple would launch two new smartphones and demote the iPhone 5 to its mid-range offering as it has done each year. The iPhone 5s would be Apple's flagship, iPhone 5 was to be its mid-range smartphone, and the "low-cost" iPhone would cover the low-end market. It would give Apple three solid smartphones and consumers would get an iPhone experience at each price point, depending on what they would use the device for.
Later on, a new rumor popped up claiming that Apple was actually going to retire the iPhone 5 and move the so-called low-cost iPhone into its place, while keeping the iPhone 4S, which was released in 2011, as its low-end offering. With the iPhone 5C finally out, consumers were disappointed to find out the expected budget price tag was not so budget-friendly after all. It appears that consumers are opting for the more expensive iPhone 5s, especially since the difference in price makes it worth the upgrade, something that could possibly be haunting Apple right now.
"Apple told its Taiwanese assemblers Pegatron Corp. and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. that shipments of the iPhone 5C in the fourth quarter would be cut, the people said. Pegatron, which analysts say assembles two thirds of the iPhone 5Cs, was told orders would be cut by less than 20%, said a person familiar with the matter. Hon Hai, which assembles the remaining low-cost iPhones, was told orders would be cut by a third, said two people familiar with the matter. One component supplier was notified of a 50% cut in orders for iPhone 5C parts, which analysts say could suggest a slowdown in device shipments next year, or mean an inventory reduction by assemblers," reported The Wall Street Journal.
Apple isn't having the same problem with the iPhone 5s, as the company is actually rumored to have had to increase production of the smartphone to try and meet demand. The smartphone is virtually impossible to find in stores and Apple's online store currently lists a ship date of 2-3 weeks.
