14 DAY TRIAL // According to recent chatter in the IT and mobile industries, Apple has been forced to cut orders of the iPhone 5c, after lackluster sales. However, the phone still has time to up steam, sources say.
Citing sources at Taiwan-based component suppliers, DigiTimes suggests in a new report that Apple may have to place an increased number of orders at its assemblers, as emerging markets in the Far East are preparing to open up sales of the handset.
The distribution channels are mainly operators, not retailers, according to the sources (excerpt below with an emphasis on my side).
“While the iPhone 5c appears to have failed to help Apple ramp up its share in the global smartphone market initially, orders for the iPhone 5c have stopped declining as more telecom operators including those in China and other emerging markets will begin selling the iPhone 5c in the first quarter of 2014, revealed the sources.”
Apple continues to sell the higher-end iPhone 5s at a rapid pace, causing supply strain at most of its stores, resellers, and various retailers. The same thing cannot be said about the 5c, which is available for immediate shipping in most territories around the world.