Apple Increasing iPhone 5s Production by 75%, Cutting iPhone 5c Orders by 35%

[Exponent]

This is not surprising.

First, just based on looks:
- the colors are off-puttingly pale,
- the black front visually clashes with the pale colors - it doesn't look like an organic whole,
- the smooth soft back doesn't jive with the sharply protruding front
(It actually looks like the 5c is missing a cover that snaps onto the front made out of the same shape and color of the back.)

Next, price: for a $100, you get a whole lot more perceived features.

That "BusinessWeek" cover shot of Ive, Cook, and Federighi laughing wildly did not portend anything good.

 

[Rogifan]

My god do we really need another story about this??

 

[swingerofbirch]

$300, off-contract, and those figures would be reversed

I agree! I've never bought a smartphone before because of the network costs, but I recently found out t-mobile has good coverage where I am, so I'm looking at low cost off-contract devices. The fact that Google is coming out for one for $349 is very intriguing, but my bias would naturally be toward Apple's iPhone if one were at the same price since I'm in their ecosystem and have apps from my iPod touch already.

 

[Lancer]

The 5c really needs to be a lot cheaper, here in AU under contract it's only a couple of dollars difference per month so I got the 5s which is much better.

 

[AppleGuesser]

A wild suggestion to Apple is to make the iPhone 5c what it was rumoured to be: a low-priced iPhone.

Guess those holiday shoppers are already done shopping. Yep, so this is a flop! Apple is doomed!!!

Cut the garbage, they are cutting supplies because they can mass produce the iPhone 5C and stop on a dime. They produced a lot up front for the intial rush, and now its a slow steady stream of production and profit. Besides, the 5C practically sells the 5S and those that dont want the 5S buy the 5C. It all makes sense. Besides, wait until this time next year before we deem it a flop or a failure

 

[MacLC]

People don't seem to get it on these forums. iPhone 5C is an awesome gold mine. If it is sold, they make a good margin. If it isn't, it is still pushing people to get the 5S. LET ME REPEAT THAT... The 5C sells the 5S. Why would they lower the price to $300? That makes no business sense.

I was going to say something along those lines. The 5C makes the 5S look that much better so more people get the 5S than otherwise would have, plus some people are getting the 5C, too and it's not as though Apple loses money on either.

 

[Rogifan]

Guess those holiday shoppers are already done shopping. Yep, so this is a flop! Apple is doomed!!!

Cut the garabage, they are cutting supplies because they can mass produce this phone and stop on a dime. They produced a lot up front for the intial rush, and now its a slow steady stream of production and profit. Wait until this time next year before we deem it a flop or a failure

Wouldn't the bigger failure be if Apple was cutting production of the 5S??

 

[AppleGuesser]

I was going to say something along those lines. The 5C makes the 5S look that much better so more people get the 5S than otherwise would have, plus some people are getting the 5C, too and it's not as though Apple loses money on either.

And the award for sensible MR member goes to....

 

[FrizzleFryBen]

What MAN would walk around with a 5c with its girly colours

I didn't know colors were gender specific. Although, I prefer not to adhere gender stereotypes; so maybe it's just me. BTW, my nephew likes pink Hello Kitty stuff and I just bought him a pink Hello Kitty tent.

I'm can't wait for the tech community to get over it's sexist and homophobic ways

 

[Klae17]

5C sounded like a weird idea to me before it was even announced.

Not cheap enough to be the phone they want it to be.

Most people would rather just pay the extra $100 and get all the cool new features, when you think about it $100 over 2 or 3 years isn't much.

Exactly. The 5C sells the 5S. Which is intended.

surprised ... not.

why buy a year old device in a cheaper to produce package if u can get the most recent one for 100€ more

The 5C sells the 5S. For .30 cents more you can get a large coke, for example.

$300, off-contract, and those figures would be reversed

So they would be making less profit? Is that your idea of running a business?

Why didn't Apple do this in the first place?

Greater demand, 5C was easier to make, now they have free production lines to use.

What MAN would walk around with a 5c with its girly colours

They sell in the millions. Lime green and white look awesome. Women make up a HUGE market.

The iPhone 5C addresses no market so it's not too surprising to see it floundering.

You can't inculcate in everyone that they should only settle for the best-of-the-best phone and then expect people to get the overpriced gimped version. Equally, you can't inculcate in everyone the idea that plastic is cheap and then instantaneously change everyone's mind.

If you're gonna drop hundreds of dollars/pounds on a phone, you might as well go whole cow.

The 5C sells millions, how is that not a market? And yes, drop a few hundred, might as well go another $100 right? The 5C sells the 5S.

 

[AppleGuesser]

Wouldn't the bigger failure be if Apple was cutting production of the 5S??

Sorry, I was focusing more on the comments that the iPhone 5C is a failure. I think the two numbers for increasing and decreasing production are inter related myself Apple will sell double, triple the amount of iPhones over the course of the next year

 

[Rogifan]

Sorry, I was focusing more on the comments that the iPhone 5C is a failure. I think the two numbers for increasing and decreasing production are inter related myself Apple will sell double, triple the amount of iPhones over the course of the next year

Yeah I guess I'm just referring to the comments in general. Or the fact that MR keeps posting different flavors of this story on their front page. Just because there's an echo in the rumor mill doesn't make the rumor accurate. But even if it is, so what? If the rumors said Apple was cutting 5S production THAT would be more newsworthy.

 

[asleep]

Apple bought too many of those whacko compass/gyros and needs to dump as many of those mis-reading pieces of junk onto consumers as they can.

 

[Chaks]

I agree with those of you who think the iPhone 5C is too expensive, when it clearly costs much less to produce. I think it should be 250-400$ off-contract, sweet-spot would be 300-350.

Don't tell me how high-quality the plastic is...it's still plastic.

 

[dampfnudel]

This is a weird claim. If Apple could have been making 75% more 5s's, they would have done so from day one.

If it's true, Apple seriously misjudged the market. I just wonder what the fate of next year's plastic iPhone (5cs...?) will be, especially if Apple decides to discontinue the 5s, due to manufacturing difficulties. Maybe they'll just offer two screen size iPhone 6 models (4" & 5") and call it a day.

 

[Laird Knox]

What MAN would walk around with a 5c with its girly colours

Sorry you feel threatened by colors.

 

[Squilly]

Disregarding the fact that numbers are going down, I don't like the way Apple is moving in terms of product lines to keep and which to eliminate. Keeping iPhone 4 and eliminating the 5 is beyond me, as well as keeping the iPad 2 and eliminating the 3.

 

[AppleGuesser]

Yeah I guess I'm just referring to the comments in general. Or the fact that MR keeps posting different flavors of this story on their front page. Just because there's an echo in the rumor mill doesn't make the rumor accurate. But even if it is, so what? If the rumors said Apple was cutting 5S production THAT would be more newsworthy.

I couldn't agree more with that. I do find that MR has been circulating lots of stories very, very similar to this one. Most tell the same story and the story may or may not even be an accurate representation of what Apple is doing. Kind of shoddy journalism if you ask me.

 

[BritMac]

iPhone 5C is a joke. I really hope this C*** will be discontinued.

 

[thedeejay]

I'm in for an iPad 5. I hope it's better than the 5S supply. I hope...

 

[PlayRadioPlay]

What MAN would walk around with a 5c with its girly colours

Men who are man enough not to care what others think about the color of their phone.

 

[RamGuy]

I don't really understand all the hate on the iPhone 5C. With the introduction of iPhone 5C Apple have started to offer those who'd want a more colourful, non-aluminium option a perfect choice.

Lets face it, aluminium isn't the correct choice for everyone as some people are just silly with their products and the aluminium casing, unlike the Mac lineup is so thin and fragile so even though it comes with a premium look and feel to it it's still not the best suited material for everyone. Having a polycarbonate option providing more fresh colours for people being into that stuff as well as giving a more viable option for those with slippery fingers and whatnot can't be that bad now, can it?


If the iPhone 5C was going to replace the iPhone 5S so we were put with no option forcing us all to settle for a colourful plastic phone instead of a sleek black or white aluminium embodied phone I could have understand all the hate that is going on. But as it only acts as an alternative to the iPhone 5S I see no harm in it, even at this price. As a few has already mentioned the price makes perfect sense out of a business perspective as it will still sell like hotcakes providing Apple with the best margins there ever was and at the same time it will make it even easier for people to justify the pricing of the iPhone 5S, thats a win-win for Apple.


The iPhone 5C will not act as a budget model, attracting all those budget buyers out there but since when did Apple start to care about the lower-price market? As long as the profit is good enough Apple won't need to cater to the low-price market.


The only thing I find really odd with the iPhone 5C is the lack of white front as the black front doesn't work very well with a few of the colours so it doesn't seem very logical to only offer black and no white front on every model. That and the fact that much of the text on the back of the iPhone 5S is visible through Apples very own iPhone 5C cases making them look rather awful, its very unusual for Apple to completely overlook something that completely destroys the visual appeal of their own products and accessories like that.

 

[JGowan]

If this is a *problem*, it's a good one to have. It's not like people don't buy plastic phones. Nobody sells more plastic than Samsung and they do so cheaply. Apple has put together a great plastic product for the market that needs a phone and has been getting Samsung many times due to cost. It's an excellent device. People here are saying last year's tech like that's a bad thing. It ain't! It's great and especially for the price.

People are getting savvy about upgrades. If you're going to have a phone for 2 years, you might as well spend the extra C-note and have the best. I am betting that most people who get these lower cost models are teens where dad has to buy phones for himself, the wife and the teens. I know several people who buy the "last year's tech" for just such a reason.

If the source is right (IF): ramping production up 75% for the 5S is a boon actually. Mo Money, mo money, mo money! We'll have a much better idea when Apple announces iPhone sells at the end of this quarter.

Naysayers, spin it any way you want... it's still a good thing. Make $199 (or more) over $99... yeah... Apple'll take that.

 

[AppleGuesser]

iPhone 5C is a joke. I really hope this C*** will be discontinued.

I wish your profile would be discontinued because what you are saying is C*** and who spells crap like that?? Not to troll, God Bless America?

 

[Rettun1]

What MAN would walk around with a 5c with its girly colours

I'd rock that blue or white or green