Apple said to be trimming iPhone 5C production while increasing 5S orders

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Apple has asked its iPhone suppliers in China to cut down on production of its newly introduced iPhone 5C model, ostensibly because of lower than expected consumer demand. The 5C represents Apple’s solution to trickling down the iPhone 5 to a lower price point — the same way it did with the iPhone 4 and 4S previously — but improving the per-device profit margin by opting for a cheaper plastic construction. Evidently, Apple’s expectations of user demand haven’t quite synced up to the reality of the market, though that needn’t necessarily be read as bad news for the company. In the same report, the WSJ cites two executives at Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) who say Apple is looking to increase iPhone 5S production.

The reduced iPhone 5C shipments relate to the fourth quarter of this year, according to the Journal, with Pegatron being told of a 20 percent cut in shipments and Hon Hai orders being cut by a third. Of course, it’s difficult to gauge exactly what that means in terms of the device’s success without knowing the absolute numbers involved.