Apple for the day

Doug Aamoth has a Time article, quoting an article by Lorraine Luk and Eva Dou in The Wall Street Journal, about the new iPhone:

Apple Inc. has reduced orders for its lower-end iPhone 5C, people familiar with the situation said, fueling concerns about weaker-than-expected consumer demand and the company's pricing strategy.
Apple has notified its two assemblers for the low-cost iPhone 5C that it is reducing orders related to the smartphone for the fourth quarter. Apple last month began selling its two new iPhone models in eleven markets, including the US and China. Much of the consumer attention focused on the company's high-end iPhone 5S— which offers faster chips and more features, including a fingerprint sensor— but is about a hundred dollars more expensive than the 5C. Demand for the new, gold-colored 5S was particularly high early on, causing the company to increase orders for that model.
Apple told its two assemblers, Taiwan-based Pegatron Corp. and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., that it would cut this quarter's orders for the iPhone 5C, people familiar with the situation said. Pegatron, which analysts said assembles two-thirds of iPhone 5Cs, was told the order would be cut by less than twenty percent, a person familiar with the matter said. Hon Hai, which assembles the remaining 5Cs, was told the order would be cut by a third, two people familiar with the matter said.
A component supplier was notified that the order for iPhone 5C parts would be cut fifty percent, a person familiar with the matter said. Analysts said that could signal that device shipments would slow next year or that assemblers would reduce their inventories.
Apple, meanwhile, has increased this quarter's orders for the iPhone 5S, two Hon Hai executives said.
Apple (as usual) didn't return requests for comment.
Apple has been facing increased challenges from price-competitive smartphones made by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and other makers of handsets that use Google's Android operating system. Samsung introduced its large smartphone, the Galaxy Note 3, and companion Galaxy Gear smartwatch last month. And Taiwan's HTC Corp. has been attempting to make its products more attractive by adding features such as a fingerprint sensor.
Investors had been pressuring Apple to respond to competition by offering a lower-priced smartphone to attract new buyers, especially those in China and other fast-growing emerging markets. Hopes were high that the iPhone 5C would be the company's answer. Some analysts predicted that it would carry a retail price of about $350 but, when the 5C was released for at least $200 more, investors were disappointed.
When Apple released the iPhone 5S and the 5C, the first time it had released two new models simultaneously, lines formed outside the company's stores. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said his surveys of customers in line when the phones were released indicated that a majority were buying the iPhone 5S, a trend other analysts also noted.
Apple's website said new orders would be delayed for weeks. The Cupertino, California company said it sold nine million iPhones in its debut weekend, but didn't break down the figures for the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C.
Although Apple's online stores in the US and China promise to ship the iPhone 5C within 24 hours, iPhone 5S orders take two to three weeks.
The company notified its suppliers of the reduced iPhone 5C orders this month, people familiar with the situation said. An executive at Hon Hai, which is also known as Foxconn, said it stopped hiring additional workers to produce the iPhone 5C because of Apple's reduced order. A Hon Hai executive last month said the company would beef up its workforce, anticipating strong orders for the iPhone 5C.
A drop in orders from suppliers doesn't necessarily indicated weak demand from consumers. But there are other signals that interest in the 5C has been weak. In recent weeks, several carriers have cut the prices for the iPhone 5C. China Telecom Corp. this month cut its price for the sixteen-gigabyte iPhone 5C by 700 yuan ($115) to 3,788 yuan. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. last month said it would offer the 5C for $79 with a two-year contract, a discount of twenty dollars.
In China, an unsubsidized iPhone 5S costs the equivalent of $866, while an iPhone 5C costs $735. But, in the broader Chinese market, high-end smartphones cost as little as $400, according to research firm Gartner.
Apple's "high price point in China makes it difficult for the company to compete in the world's largest mobile market by subscribers," said Marvin Lo, an analyst at Mizuho Securities. "Customers in more-developed markets like the US and Hong Kong also prefer buying the iPhone 5S because of the little pricing difference between the two new iPhones."
Apple's reduced orders for the 5C could affect fourth-quarter sales of Pegatron, Hon Hai, and components makers, which depend heavily on the US company. Pegatron's fourth-quarter revenue likely will fall nearly as much as Apple's order was cut, as it is too late to find other customers to fill capacity, a person familiar with the matter said.

Reuters, on the other hand, has an article about a new set of iPads, due out on 22 October. They're expected to feature "lighter, thinner designs and more powerful processors".

Rico says you gotta learn to take the good with the bad when it's Apple...