Apple's iPhone 5c orders lower than expected, insider says

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has slashed his projected iPhone 5c shipments for the just-concluded September quarter by 33 percent, as price cuts for the new mid-range plastic handset continue at major U.S. retailers.



Kuo now projects that Apple shipped 11.4 million iPhone 5c units in the September quarter. He also expects shipments to drop sequentially by 10 percent, to 10.4 million units, in the December quarter.

Though the numbers are lower than expected, Kuo did not come to the conclusion that overall iPhone shipments will disappoint. He said sales of the iPhone 5s and legacy iPhone 4S, which is available for free on contract, remain strong.Apple doesn't break down sales of specific models, but concerns are growing that the iPhone 5c could be off to a slow start.

Kuo has a strong record of predicting Apple's moves, and was the first to reveal that the iPhone 5c would replace the iPhone 5 and become Apple's new mid-range phone, while the iPhone 4S would live on. Prior to that, market watchers expected the iPhone 5c would be made available at a more affordable price to target emerging markets and entry-level handset buyers.

The revised estimates come as retailers in the U.S. continue to offer the iPhone 5c at discounted prices, just three weeks after the handset went on sale. Starting this Sunday, Target will offer the iPhone 5c for $50 with a new two-year service contract, matching discounts already offered by Best Buy, RadioShack, and Walmart.

Checks at Apple's retail stores also indicate that the iPhone 5c remains in strong supply, while availability of the flagship iPhone 5s is constrained. Still, Apple has focused on promoting the iPhone 5c in advertisements, pushing the device as its new mainstream handset.

The iPhone 5c has largely the same components as the now-discontinued iPhone 5, but comes with a new plastic back that's available in a range of colors: yellow, blue, green, pink and white. The 16-gigabyte model is regularly priced at $99 with a new two-year service contract, while an off-contract model can be bought for $549.

When Apple reports its quarterly earnings later this month, it's unlikely that the company will break down sales of the new iPhone 5c as compared to the flagship iPhone 5s and legacy iPhone 4S. Historically Apple has declined to reveal sales of specific models for competitive reasons. Collective sales of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c hit 9 million during last month's launch weekend.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 185
    pazuzupazuzu Posts: 1,728member
    Plastic not so fantastic.

    Why get a Volkswagen when you can get a Mercedes for $100 more.
  • Reply 2 of 185
    11.4 mil. in 10 days.

    10.4 mil. in 92 days.

    Yep. Okay. Sure. Uh hu.
  • Reply 3 of 185

    They should have upgraded the specs to be close to the 5S. No one is going to upgrade to a 5C if it isn't any better than a 5. If they wanted a 5 they would have gotten one already. This was one of the most idiotic product ideas I've ever seen at Apple. "We'll sell them last year's phone - but thicker and in plastic colors!" 

  • Reply 4 of 185

    5c is aimed at a completely different audience.  I see kids wanting the 5c with multiple cases, parents paying for them for their birthday, holidays.

  • Reply 5 of 185
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member
    Lower than WHO expected?
    Were 5C sales lower than APPLE expected?
    Were they lower than the phone the 5C replaced, last year's 4S at this time?

    The guy 1) makes a prediction, 2) sees his prediction is not true, and 3) proclaims that Apple failed to meet expectations.

    Yeah, they failed to meet his arbitrary number.

    In other words, HE failed. HIS prediction was WRONG.

    APPLE might be very happy with their sales numbers for the 5C.
  • Reply 6 of 185
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I said it here when the new phones where just announced, the so called high price on the iPhone 5c means nothing. The intent from the start was to promote the phone via sales. We will likely find that Apples sales are the strongest ever.
  • Reply 7 of 185
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    They should have upgraded the specs to be close to the 5S. No one is going to upgrade to a 5C if it isn't any better than a 5. If they wanted a 5 they would have gotten one already. This was one of the most idiotic product ideas I've ever seen at Apple. "We'll sell them last year's phone - but thicker and in plastic colors!" 

    Nope. Why would Apple cannibalize the flagship iPhone?

    Edit: the 5C isn't for early adopters. It's for Android/WinMob/BBY refugees, price conscious consumers and those that don't need the latest and greatest.

    The 5C is doing well compared to non iPhone 5S's.
    Where did analysts get these expectations? Wild guesses and poor supply chain analysis.
  • Reply 8 of 185
    11 million in September (and that is just pre-orders plus 9/20 to 9/28) and only 10 million in the whole following quarter?  I'm not sure which is less likely, but probably both.
  • Reply 9 of 185
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post



    Lower than WHO expected?

    Were 5C sales lower than APPLE expected?

    Were they lower than the phone the 5C replaced, last year's 4S at this time?



    The guy 1) makes a prediction, 2) sees his prediction is not true, and 3) proclaims that Apple failed to meet expectations.



    Yeah, they failed to meet his arbitrary number.



    In other words, HE failed. HIS prediction was WRONG.



    APPLE might be very happy with their sales numbers for the 5C.

     

    I find it funny that you went from very decisive, "He failed. His prediction was wrong."

     

    To indecisive, "Apple might be very happy...".

  • Reply 10 of 185
    Is it really disappointing comparing with last year's iPhone4S?
    Since the 5C is to play the role which belonged to 4S last year.
  • Reply 11 of 185
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pazuzu View Post



    Why get a Volkswagen when you can get a Mercedes for $100 more.

    I agree.  If Apple really wanted to move the 5c's (which apparently they do from all the advertising they have for them) the price should have been $49 w/ contract or $499 off contract to begin with.  $49 is much more in the impulse purchase range and would have garnered a lot more attention from the masses without killing Apple's margins.  

  • Reply 12 of 185
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pazuzu View Post



    Why get a Volkswagen when you can get a Mercedes for $100 more.

     

    Because the diesel C-class wagon wasn't available in North America :)

  • Reply 13 of 185
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    wtf.  Is this guy smoking crack?


     

    Explain.

  • Reply 14 of 185
    This people know more than apple does! apple ahoukd take all this rats to court
  • Reply 15 of 185
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by RexXX View Post



    Is it really disappointing comparing with last year's iPhone4S?

    Since the 5C is to play the role which belonged to 4S last year.

     

    Actually, it appears that Apple intended the 5c to play a much bigger role than the 4s last year.

     

    Changing the body and then advertising the crap out of it would indicate that Apple is hoping for high sales of the 5c... maybe even in line with the 5s.

  • Reply 16 of 185
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    not you.  The guy predicting 11 million 5C sales in 10 days, then 10 million DURING THE HOLIDAY quarter.


     

    Thank you.

  • Reply 17 of 185
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member

    I know Apple has better marketing info and a know better how to plan their own launches, but...

    i think it was a mistake to do a 2-phone release when the screens sizes are the same.

    Had they launched a 5"-6" iPhone (as predicted for 2014) and a lower-cost 5c.  I think there would be a much greater difference between the two and would make a much better marketing statement about the product line.  I'm assuming the 5c next year will get all the internals and features of the 5s this year and the iPhone 6 will be the larger screen.

    I think that would have made a better approach to sales.

     

    Personally, i think this year is a huge transition for Apple's products that we haven't seen the grand scheme of things yet.

  • Reply 18 of 185
    dilliodillio Posts: 106member

    The evidence keeps coming in that 5c was a bad idea. I know it's not enough for some of you who by default give Apple all the credit, but even Apple can make mistakes, you know. It's happened in the past, and this kind of attitude to endorse anything just because Apple did it, and for Apple to think that they know best what people want without regarding those people's opinions, is what can get them in trouble. That's how BlackBerry went down, because they thought they knew what their customers wanted better than their customers. 

     

    I'm a big Apple fan, but I reserve to be critical of them, too, especially of late, after the 5c came out and after iOS7. 

  • Reply 19 of 185
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by heroinsmoker View Post

     

    They should have upgraded the specs to be close to the 5S. No one is going to upgrade to a 5C if it isn't any better than a 5. If they wanted a 5 they would have gotten one already. This was one of the most idiotic product ideas I've ever seen at Apple. "We'll sell them last year's phone - but thicker and in plastic colors!" 


    I don't think this phone is really for people to be upgrading from the iPhone 5 - this is for the 3/3GS/4/4S people.

     

    Yeah, upgrading from the 5 to the 5C would be kinda dumb, unless you really really like those bright colors, but again, I don't think this is the audience for the 5C.

  • Reply 20 of 185

    Steve knew what people wanted before they knew it themselves.  It worked. Dilio is right.  Even Apple can make a mistake. One mistake that the will likely continue to make now that Mr Jobs is gone is to listen to techies about what techies like...while failing to understand what the vast bulk of the users will like.  And remember, that vast bulk of more or less silent users is where the $$$ comes from, not from the techies.

     

    If Apple were sensitive to that iOS7 would not look like it does.  If Apple (the new Apple under Tim) understood that they would not have wasted money and time on the 5C.  

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