The new Apple iPhone 5C, which is available in five colors. The new phone features a 4-inch Retina display, an A6 chip and an 8-megapixel iSight camera.(Photo: Apple via epa)
Apple is reportedly scaling back on orders of its lower-cost iPhone 5c smartphone.
Citing “people familiar with the situation,” the Wall Street Journal reports[1] Apple has told assemblers based in Taiwan that it will trim orders of the 5c for the fourth quarter.
As the story notes, the reported cutback has raised worries that demand for the 5c, priced $100 less than the 5s smartphone, is weakening.
This follows an analysis by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, via All Things D[2], that the 5s is outselling the 5c by more than a 2-to-1 ratio in the U.S.
The 5c, which launched in September, sports a plastic body available in five different colors, although it retains nearly all the technical features of the iPhone 5. The 5s boasts a more powerful processing chip, a new coprocessor and upgrades to the camera. It also includes a fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone and making purchases through iTunes or the App Store.
During the smartphones’ first three days of availability, Apple sold more than 9 million iPhones. However, the company did not break down sales figures by model.
