Report: Apple cutting orders for iPhone 5 parts
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple shares fell in premarket trading Monday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has cut its orders for iPhone 5 components due to weaker-than-expected demand.
The newspaper said that two people it did not identify by name told it that Apple's first quarter orders for iPhone 5 screens have dropped to about half of what the company had previously planned to order.
It said one of the people told the newspaper that the Cupertino, Calif., company has also cut orders for components other than screens. The Journal said it was told Apple notified the suppliers of the order cut last month.
Apple didn't immediately return an email seeking comment before business hours Monday.
The move is a sign that sales of the new iPhone haven't been as strong as previously expected and demand may be waning. It comes as the company has been facing increased competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and other makers of smartphones that run Google Inc.'s Android operating system.
South Korea's Samsung, which sells Android-based models at various price points, has already overtaken the U.S. company as the world's largest smartphone vendor by market share.
Android devices accounted for 75 percent of smartphone shipments during the three months ending in September, up from 58 percent at the same time in 2011, according to the research firm IDC. The iPhone's share stood at 15 percent in September, up from 14 percent in the previous year.
Google says more than 500 million Android devices have been activated since the software's release four years ago. By comparison, Apple had sold about 271 million iPhones through last September.
Last week, the Journal reported that Apple is trying to decide whether it makes sense to offer a cheaper iPhone as it tries to boost sales in less-affluent countries and reclaim some of its lost market share.
The newspaper said that two people it did not identify by name told it that Apple's first quarter orders for iPhone 5 screens have dropped to about half of what the company had previously planned to order.
It said one of the people told the newspaper that the Cupertino, Calif., company has also cut orders for components other than screens. The Journal said it was told Apple notified the suppliers of the order cut last month.
Apple didn't immediately return an email seeking comment before business hours Monday.
The move is a sign that sales of the new iPhone haven't been as strong as previously expected and demand may be waning. It comes as the company has been facing increased competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and other makers of smartphones that run Google Inc.'s Android operating system.
South Korea's Samsung, which sells Android-based models at various price points, has already overtaken the U.S. company as the world's largest smartphone vendor by market share.
Android devices accounted for 75 percent of smartphone shipments during the three months ending in September, up from 58 percent at the same time in 2011, according to the research firm IDC. The iPhone's share stood at 15 percent in September, up from 14 percent in the previous year.
Google says more than 500 million Android devices have been activated since the software's release four years ago. By comparison, Apple had sold about 271 million iPhones through last September.
Last week, the Journal reported that Apple is trying to decide whether it makes sense to offer a cheaper iPhone as it tries to boost sales in less-affluent countries and reclaim some of its lost market share.
And yet my iPhone app still outsells my Android version 3 to 1.
@cyclops You wrote and marketed a app?
 @ALTemp I have a couple out there
 @therunner They don't like to pay for any app.  I know the competition and mine has stellar reviews compared to the others and has been mentioned in national publications.  On Android, there are a couple of 99¢ versions and on iOS there a a couple of free ones yet my iPhone sales triple the Android sales.  It is obvious to me that Android users are too cheap to fork over a couple of bucks...which is why they bought an Android device in the first place. I will NEVER make an ad based app. I cannot bring myself  to annoy my customers with ads like Google loves to do.Â
 @cyclops They don't like to pay for YOUR app. Maybe there is already another app that works better than yours, is cheaper, or it isn't needed much for Android phones (the only way to know is if you tell us what your app is or does). Stick advertising on it and make it a free app, you'll get a regular income stream instead. Most of the profits from iOS apps are made made only a handful of companies, which distorts the figures a bit.
 @chuckh0308 No...I am not going to waste my time making Android versions of my iPhone apps since Android users don't like to pay for anything.
 @cyclops  @TheBronze Actually, the Android phones I buy cost at least as much as the iPhone. I really do not like iOS at all and find it extremely frustrating to use, nor do I like the Retina screen (though it is definitely better than the older ones). Are your apps something that come included with Android? :P
 @TheBronze I don't really care about all the stuff you mention about Android phones having better this and that...what I do care about is maximizing my profit and it is Apple all the way.  There are twice as many Android phones out there yet my iPhone version outsells 3 to 1 and gaining distance between.  Android users buy those phones because they are cheaper, not because of the "features" you mention.
@cyclops @ALTemp Excellent for you, really. However, when I look at iPhones and look at Android, or even Windows 8 phones, the iPhone is so dated! It is no wonder that they can't keep up when shoppers go to the stores to spend their hard earned cash. for $200 or less, you can get a rocket ship of an android phone with higher resolution screen, faster processor, more memory, more basic functionality. It's no wonder they can't compete and must use litigation to keep the bottom line healthy.
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I doubt they will start selling a lower priced version either. It doesn't line up with the premium Apple brand that they have worked so hard to build up.