iPhone 5C orders slashed

The dream that many at Apple had of selling a cheaper iPhone hasn’t panned out in the consumer market. It could be because it was released at the same time as another phone. It could just be that not as many people actually want a cheap iPhone. Apple is correcting course now and is ordering much fewer than anticipated.

Apple Inc. has notified its two assemblers for the low-cost iPhone 5C that it is reducing orders of the smartphone for the fourth quarter, people familiar with the situation said, raising concerns about weaker-than-expected demand and its pricing strategy for the device.

In September, the Cupertino, Calif. company began selling its newest iPhones in 11 markets including the U.S. and China, for the first time at launch. Customers’ attention focused on the company’s high-end phone, the iPhone 5S, which offers faster chips and new features including a fingerprint sensor despite being about $100 more expensive than the iPhone 5C. Demand for a new gold-colored version was particularly high during its initial debut, causing Apple to increase orders for that device.