14 DAY TRIAL // Disappointing news are coming out of Taiwan today, where sources with ties to local retail channels say the iPhone 5c is such a flop that carriers are refusing to buy more units from Apple.
DigiTimes reports, citing retail channels in Taiwan, that “Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Taiwan Mobile (TWM) and Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) on October 25, 2103 began contract-bundled sale of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C in the Taiwan market, and an estimated total of 20,000-30,000 iPhone 5Cs have been sold through the three mobile telecom carriers so far, with the sales performance short of original expectation.”
The news is certainly disappointing, but it’s also not surprising considering the rumors about Apple having a hard time moving the unapologetically-plastic iPhones.
The sources specifically outlined that the main cause of this has been the high price. Even though it’s cheaper than the 5s, an iPhone 5c is by no means cheap.
Contract-free, an iPhone 5c sells for NT$18,900 (US$624/€452) in the 16GB configuration and goes for NT$22,500 (US$737/€533) for 32GB version.
“The three mobile telecom carriers have not procured the iPhone 5C since the initial procurement,” the sources reportedly added. At least in China, the iPhone 5c really does seem to be a total failure.