Apple is reportedly cutting daily production for the iPhone 5c from 300,000 to 150,000.
MacRumors found a report from Chinese site C Tech that learned from “insiders” the cut in production was due to “dismal sales.”
The iPhone 5c, which was largely thought to be Apple’s phone for emerging markets, somewhat confounded when it came in priced only $100 less than the flagship iPhone 5s. MacRumors pointed toward reports that the iPhone 5c was selling nearly 30 percent less than its official price of $726 in Chinese grey markets.
Following the new iPhones’ launch three weeks ago, supplies of the iPhone 5s have been scarce, particularly of the gold iPhone 5s. AllThingsD spoke with sources saying that production was ramping up “significantly” for the sought-after gold phone.
Localytics’ look at new iPhone activations on the four major U.S. carriers found the iPhone 5s now representing 1.05 percent of active iPhones now, with the iPhone 5c only representing 0.31 percent. Those numbers seem to indicate a bigger demand for the Apple’s high-end device which in turn could explain the reported drop in production for the 5c.