Apple Reportedly Cutting iPhone 5c Production as Chinese Gray Market Prices Drop
Apple is reportedly cutting iPhone 5c production in half from 300,000 units to 150,000 units per day, according to claims by C Technology [Google Translate], which leaked a number of photos of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c ahead of their launches last month. As highlighted by Unwired View, gray market pricing for iPhone 5c units has also been falling as availability has remained solid.
The official price of iPhone 5c in China is 4448 Yuan ($726). But there is a thriving grey market over there, with iPhones bought in the U.S, Europe and Hong-Kong, illegally smuggled into the country. With real people taking real risks with their real money, this market is very sensitive to the real demand for any gadget, and very quick to adjust prices accordingly.
Care to guess the current price of unofficial iPhone 5c in China? 3000 to 3300 Yuan ($489-539), according to checks done multiple by local tech sites, and a quick review of offers on China’s main online marketplace – Taobao. That’s a drop of 30% below the official price. And, according to some sources, you can now sometimes find iPhone 5c as cheaply as 2600 Yuan.
The iPhone 5c has been available in much greater supplies than the iPhone 5s, which continues to be difficult to find and for which gray market prices in China remain high. There has, however, been some dispute about how much of the plentiful iPhone 5c supplies might be due to weak demand and how much is a result of Apple simply having been able to ramp up production sufficiently to meet early demand.
While a decrease in iPhone 5c production would be a signal that Apple has plentiful supplies in its distribution channels, it is not necessarily an indication that the company significantly overestimated demand for the device, which retails for just $100 less than than the iPhone 5s. Apple no doubt ramped up production leading up to the iPhone 5c launch in order to meet pre-order and launch-day demand while also shipping a significant number of units into its distribution channels to stock retail locations for sales in the following weeks. Apple was unable to make a similar production ramp for the iPhone 5s, reportedly due to fingerprint sensor shortages, leading to very tight supplies that continue to be an issue three weeks after launch.
Apple will certainly be adjusting its iPhone 5c production orders to meet customer demand as it did by immediately boosting gold iPhone 5s production, but it is unclear whether the currently alleged iPhone 5c production changes have been part of Apple's strategy all along or if they are a response to weaker than expected demand.
Popular Stories
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you skipped the iPhone...
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why.
In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence.
The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
Apple at WWDC previewed a bunch of new features coming in its updated operating systems, but certain changes will have been met with dismay by third-party developers who already offer apps with equivalent or similar features. In other words, their product has been "sherlocked" by Apple.
When Apple creates an app or a feature that has functionality found in a third-party app, it is referred...
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look.
Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles.
iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro.
The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...