iPhone 5c production reportedly slashed amid weak demand in China

Releasing an overpriced iPhone 5c in China looked like a disaster waiting to happen, and a recent report seems to indicate just how much damage the misstep has caused. Insider C Technology reports that Apple has decreased average daily production of the iPhone 5c from 300,000 to 150,000 units — though those figures seem a bit odd — as sales continue to plummet and gray market prices drop to meet the meager demand. Gray market traders buy iPhones all around the world for subsidized prices and then smuggle them back to China to sell at a slightly lower price than official retailers and wireless carriers. Typically the gray market price for a popular product would only amount to limited savings, but the iPhone 5c is currently available for a 30% discount (or more) through less-than-legal channels. C Technology points out that Apple’s price for the iPhone 5c is 4,488 yuan ($727 USD) but on China’s popular online marketplace Taobao, prices are as low as 3,000 yuan ($490 USD). iPhone 5s sales have remained consistent, but reports like these are signs that the 5c might have been a failed experiment in China.