According to a Wall Street Journal report this morning Apple has asked its iPhone suppliers in China to reduce production of its newly introduced iPhone 5C model, apparently because of lower than expected consumer demand. The 5C was gushed out not as a low cost iPhone but an alternative to Apple’s solution to trickling down the iPhone 5 to a lower price point —
the same way it has always done and previously with the iPhone 4 and 4S — also the need for them to improve the per-device profit margin by opting for a cheaper plastic construction.
Obviously, Apple’s expectations of user demand haven’t quite hit the right spot in the market as there are many factors and dynamics governing the smartphone phone market nowadays, though that needn’t necessarily be read as bad news for the company. The same WSJ report also cites two executives at Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) who say Apple is looking to increase iPhone 5S production. We are yet to see the effect of this decision in the coming months.
