Why the iPhone 5c might be a flop: Experts chime in

Apple is all set to launch its new iPhone line-up, the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, in India on November 1. While the higher-end model is priced at Rs 54,000, the “budget” 5c will set users back Rs 42,000. While the company has said that it was able to sell 9 million new devices over the international launch weekend alone, opinions are divided on how many 5c's actually make up that number.

A recent report from the Wall Street Journal claimed that Apple is planning to cut down on its iPhone 5c production this quarter. While the decision has still not been validated, the cause for this could be attributed to the company not getting the responses that it was looking for. Don Reisinger from eWeek has come up with a few reasons why this could be happening.

One of the main reasons, according to him, could be because the 5c is not a major upgrade over last year’s iPhone 5. The new device, instead of coming with new hardware, offers users different colours to choose from. This does not make for a big sales point. Talking about the success that the higher-end model has achieved across market, the reporter says that while customers like colours, what they really want are “elegant options” like the 5s.

Will the iPhone 5c flop?

Features play an important part here. While the 5s comes with a new processor, the 5c recycles last year technology, which might hurt its cause, considering that the Android-based competition have all packed in the latest hardware for their customers. According to Business Insider’s Jay Yarow, the iPhone 5s is a premium phone which is creating a strong demand.

While this is good news for the high-end model, it might not bode well for the sales of the lower-end device, though. The reporter does say that Apple will need to cut the price of the new device and pump up sales volume if the demand proves to be too weak.

ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, however, says that one of the main reasons why the 5c may flop is due to the lack of "sane colours" to choose from. While the new device comes in while, pink, yellow, blue and green, there are no subdued black, charcoal or space grey options to choose from. The fact that the phone does not come in a black avatar, according to Hughes, may put a dent in the overall sales. The second most important reason is the shocking price. While the iPhone 5 was launch at around Rs 45,000, the “budget” iPhone comes with a launch price that is only a few thousand less. This may put quite a few aspiring users off, who were looking forward to an affordable iPhone.

The higher-end iPhone 5s may find itself selling more than the 5c

Perhaps the most important reason that most reports agree on is the perception of the 5c versus the 5s. The popular perception around iPhone buyers is that they are attracted to the latest handset with the best features. While the 5c may be a new device, there is no doubting that there is a greater amount of focus being given to the 5s. This could amount to the 5c being seen as a lesser option.

PCMag’s Sascha Segan, however, offers a word of caution against completely writing the 5c off. According to him, while the 5s is doing much better than the 5c, the latter’s performance is comparable with earlier editions in the price bracket for the past two years. According to him, Apple has always had three iPhones in the market, a new, high-end one, last year’s model and a two year old model. This time around, customers have two new options to pick from, and it is estimated that they will want the fancier one now. The reporter, however, estimates that the sales might shift to the 5c later in the purchase cycle.

Be that as it may, the data so far hints at the 5s doing much better than the 5c. How the lower-end device is actually doing can only be tabulated after some time. So which iPhone will you be picking up? Will it be the relatively-lower priced 5c? Or will you be ready to shell out more to get the latest features? Let us know.