Apple has readdressed its iPhone intentions, with the Cupertino based company set to increase iPhone 5S production rates by 75 per cent.
Seemingly highlighting the gulf in interest between the company’s two latest smartphone offerings, while iPhone 5S production is set to be almost doubled, it has been suggested that production rates of the colourful iPhone 5C are to be reduced by 35 per cent.
According to Display Search analysts NPD, iPhone 5S production rates are set for a 75 per cent increase in the coming weeks, a move which should help rectify the stock shortage issues which continue to plague the flagship phone.
With no iPhone 5S pre-orders having been offered, the iPhone 5 follow-on was in short supply at launch last month, with the gold iterations of the handset still hard to come by.
“The diverging fates of Apple’s iPhone 5s and 5c have been widely reported, and our latest channel checks confirm that Apple indeed has cut back 5c production by 35 per cent and increased 5s production by 75 per cent,” an NPD analyst report has stated.
Despite continued struggles for the iPhone 5C, the NPD analysts have suggested that the iPhone 5S is still an attractive proposition for consumers.
“While the fate of the iPhone 5c is still to be determined, the iPhone 5s is doing quite well, indicating that Apple still has a strong hardcore base for its premium devices,” a note from the NPD analysts stated.
They added: “The market’s expectation of what the iPhone 5c would be was very different from how Apple wants to position itself. It was not Apple’s intention to develop a product targeting the “low-cost” smartphone segment. However, rumors about iPhone 5c being “cheap” were circulating as early as Q3 2012. The fact that the iPhone 5c is nearly identical to the iPhone 5 – and is not cheap – disappointed some consumers.”
According to the research, Apple had originally planned on offering the iPhone 5C at a cheaper price but was forced to increase the fee for the phone shortly before launch to meet profit margin requirements.
“Apple is a profit-driven company, and decided to raise their price in order to hit its profit target when Chinese carriers cut their subsidies on the iPhone 5c.”
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