According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, which claims the news comes from sources familiar with the matter, Apple cut “roughly half” of its orders for the iPhone 5’s 4-inch screen and initiated a drawdown on other components orders for the January to March quarter. The cutback in part orders was in part due to “weaker-than-expected” demand for Apple’s latest iPhone.
It’s unclear as to what is to blame for the reduction but ongoing rumors point to the possible introduction of a cheaper model to the iPhone line sometime in 2013. According to a corresponding article from Nikkei, Apple’s revised orders have prompted Japanese LCD makers to look for business elsewhere. Apple is currently sourcing the 4-inch Retina displays used in the iPhone 5 from Japanese manufactures Japan Display and Sharp as well as South Korea’s LG Display.
Overall, this doesn’t seem like too much of a surprise as supply of the iPhone 5 finally caught up to demand in mid-December when a number of international Online Apple Stores listed the smartphone as being in stock for the first time since its launch at the end of September. Ultimately though, we’ll still need to wait and see if the report is correct and what the exact reason behind a cutdown in orders might be, if there has been one in the first place.
Source: AppleInsider, The Wall Street Journal, Nikkei via Brightwire
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