The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple has slashed component orders for the iPhone 5 for this quarter, as a response to weaker than expected demand.
The Wall Street Journal via , MacRumors:
Apple’s orders for iPhone 5 screens for the January-March quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what the company had previously planned to order, two of the people said.
The Cupertino, Calif., company has also cut orders for components other than screens, according to one of the people.
Apple notified the suppliers of the order cut last month, the people said.
Reports have floated that Apple is looking to launch the next version of it’s iPhone handset in the middle of 2013, as part of an attempt to shorten its product cycles. There are also rumors around that Apple is mulling the release of a cheaper version of the iPhone in order to better compete with the proliferation of Android handsets.
If Apple is indeed cutting back production of it’s flagship handset, it is sure to cause concern for the company’s investors and others who watch the company’s performance.
