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Apple to trim iPhone 5C orders this quarter, says report

On the plus side, orders for the 5S will increase, says The Wall Street Journal.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
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Lance Whitney
Watch this: iPhone 5C: Colorful, less expensive, just as good as last year

The iPhone 5S has proven to be a hot commodity. The iPhone 5C? Not so much, at least according to a new report.

Apple has told two of its iPhone suppliers that it plans to cut orders for the 5C this quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Citing information from "people familiar with the situation," the Journal reported that supplier Pegatron was told that 5C orders would be trimmed by less than 20 percent. Hon Hai, aka Foxconn, was informed that orders would be reduced by a third. Pegatron assembles around two-thirds of 5C units, according to analysts, with Foxconn accounting for the rest.

So, does this latest item signal doom and gloom for Apple? Not really.

To be sure, the 5C isn't exactly heating up the consumer market. Apple dashed hopes of a truly low-cost phone that could compete internationally when it revealed that the nonsubsidized price of the 5C would be $550. Even at a subsidized cost of $99 with a two-year contract, the 5C has undergone price chops from Walmart, Target, and other retailers.

But the 5C order cuts don't necessarily translate directly into feeble consumer demand. Apple has in the past trimmed orders from suppliers for different reasons. And at the same time Apple plans to reduce 5C orders, it will raise them for the higher-end and more profitable 5S this quarter, according to Foxconn executives.