iPhone 5c already selling at a discount in China

Apple may never have had any intention of selling a budget smartphone but its iPhone 5c is already on its way to becoming one in China. Caijing reports that China’s largest business-to-consumer retail platform has slashed the price of the 5c from 4488 yuan (or around USD $733) to 3699 yuan (USD $604). Caijing says that the discount comes amid weak early sales for the 5c, which has been eclipsed in the high-end Chinese market by the iPhone 5s. The general consensus among analysts so far has been that Apple’s iPhone 5c was not priced aggressively enough to appeal to most consumers in emerging markets. If the device keeps getting the discount treatment from other outlets this early after its release then it seems that conventional wisdom will have been right.