Apple Slashes iPhone 5 Part Orders Due to Weak Demand

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has slashed component orders for the iPhone 5 this quarter, responding to weaker-than-expected demand.

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.

There have been reports that Apple is looking to launch its next-generation iPhone in the middle of this year as part of a broader effort to shorten its product update cycles. Apple is reportedly also toying with other changes such as a cheaper version of the iPhone in order to help the company slow the momentum of Android and its leading manufacturers Samsung.

iphone5frontback
It is not unusual for demand, and thus Apple's component orders, to wane in the lead-up to hardware updates, but the iPhone 5 is just four months old, and the slashing of production at this stage of the device's lifecycle is sure to cause concern for the company, its investors, and others closely watching Apple's performance.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...

Top Rated Comments

kjs862 Avatar
169 months ago
Can thank a stale design and os for this.
Score: 158 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lancetx Avatar
169 months ago
Stock manipulation at it's finest, once again. :rolleyes:
Score: 77 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AHDuke99 Avatar
169 months ago
I need to dump the stock. I don't see it rebounding to $700/share.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saladinos Avatar
169 months ago
I'm not surprised.

I usually try to judge these things based on anecdotal evidence, and from that perspective the iPhone 5 is a flop. Of course it depends on my location, place of work and a billion other factors, but in a modern busy city you see a lot of random people with their phones and occasionally you notice one.

I don't tend to see a lot of iPhone 5s around.

Personally, I'm not tempted to buy one, either. The iPhone today does basically the same things the iPhone 4 did, just faster. The iPhone 4 was as big of a shake-up as the iPhone's had since launch (and even then it was a new case and faster internals).

There hasn't been anything revolutionary. Nothing that really pushes the device to the next level or provides something radically different. NFC could do that, but in that case it's less about physically sticking it in to the phone and more about building up the infrastructure; unfortunately Apple doesn't seem to be doing anything there, and they don't seem to be doing anything else either.

As always, would love to be wrong, hope they have something really great. Unfortunately when you build your brand on innovative ideas, people expect you to keep delivering. When those ideas run out your brand will just lose steam.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
169 months ago
This isn't really a surprise ...

iPhone 5S rumors (which NEEDS to happen, annual hardware updates for your NUMBER ONE product line is inexcusable), iPhone 5 initial issues with scuffing and Wifi, iOS 6 being stale and the maps fiasco, not to mention lack of jailbreak.

I LOVE Apple products, but ever since the iPhone 4S's release I've started to get bored and watch Apple be surpassed by even WP8 in some areas.

They need to lock down contracts in China and other areas of the world. They really only dominate the US market.

And the WSJ doesn't know this for sure, I'll wait to see the financials for the quarter before making judgement. Isn't it common for post-holiday shipment cuts? People surely don't buy in January like they do in December.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
myrtlebee Avatar
169 months ago
Doesn't surprise me. Nothing made me covet iPhone 5. iOS is getting stale in my opinion. The products are becoming a bit boring and predictable lately. I love Apple, but it's just how I feel.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)