iPhone 5S Continues to Outsell the iPhone 5C into Holiday Season

iPhone 5S Continues to Outsell the iPhone 5C into Holiday Season

Earlier this year, the world was waiting in anticipation of Apple's next phone announcement. That time has come and gone, and they released not one, but two new phones: the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. The 5s is a high-end luxury phone, while the 5c is affordably priced. The 5s, however, is outselling the 5c by a significant margin, and you can expect this to continue into the holiday shopping season. Why is that?

People Don't Want to Sacrifice Quality for Price

As it turns out, even though some complained that the iPhone was expensive, people don't really want an inferior product. The iPhone 5c has sold so poorly, in fact, that Best Buy recently ran a deal where you could trade in any iOS device and get $100 — enough for a 5c on a two-year contract. The surplus of stock is unheard of for a new phone launch for Apple.

The 5c has a plastic casing. When you hold it, it feels cheap. It's still a powerful phone, but half of the charm of owning an iPhone is how sturdy it feels. The 5c feels flimsy; almost like a toy. Consumers are proving that they are willing to pay a higher price for the sturdier feeling phone. In the United States, the 5s has been outselling the 5c by a margin of 2:1. In China, the 5s is outselling the 5c by a mind-blowing margin of 8:1.

Poor Reviews Do Not Move Units

The reviews weren't really negative, but they weren't overwhelmingly positive, either. People either opted to buy the 5s, or stick with the phone that they currently have. The 5c is, however, marketable to both families and younger audiences alike, due to its protective and colorful array of cases, so you'll likely find it in almost any store.

The 4s and the 5 are Still Viable Options

Thanks to the release of the 5s and 5c models, the 4s and the iPhone 5 have gone down in price. Given that the upgrades to the 5 were based on performance, the 4s is still a viable option. It may not be as fast as the 5, 5s, or 5c, but it works just fine. When the new phones released, older models dropped a bit in price, so those that didn't already have an iPhone picked up that version. Since the 4s is still supported by Apple, a lot of people felt like it wasn't necessary to upgrade to the 5c or 5s, and they are holding onto their 4s. Also, thanks to the announcement that Apple would be discontinuing production of the iPhone 5 after its release of the 5s and 5c, an influx of consumers rushed to get the discounted 5.

The Colors Matter

For the first time, Apple has offered the iPhone in multiple colors instead of just black and white. The 5c comes in white, pink, yellow, blue, or green. The 5s, however, comes in silver, charcoal, and gold. The gold iPhone has become an instant hit with consumers. It's not uncommon for stores to be completely sold out of the gold 5s but still have the other colors in stock.

The 5c was Poorly Marketed

When the 5c was announced, it was very much announced as a budget iPhone, especially when compared to the 5s announcement. By offering a variety of colors, they thought that they would appeal to a wide range of people. They were wrong.

The 5c should've been marketed as a device for families. Children are starting to get hooked on phones, whether it's thanks to games or the amount of content on YouTube, and parents worry about their child breaking their devices. Granted, the 5c can't work miracles and be fully unbreakable, but the other iPhones shatter or, at the very least, get scuffed up. If you drop the 5c, as long as it's not on the front of the screen, it'll survive the fall. This is great for parents. If the phone does end up getting broken, it's fairly cheap to replace.

As you can see, there are several reasons that the iPhone 5s is outselling its companion, the 5c, and continues to do so. Both smartphones reportedly run quite well, however, and you aren't likely to see much real difference between them — particularly when they're hooked up to your local Wi-Fi connection. Even so, did you manage to pick up a 5s or a 5c? How are you liking your new phone?

Posted by George Daniels on Tuesday November 26 2013, 3:04 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0