The tech giant has reduced orders to assemblers for its lower-end iPhone, the 5C, people familiar with the situation said. At the same time, retailers and telecom operators report tepid demand for the device, prompting some to cut prices.Likewise, employees at several Best BuyCo. BBY +2.41% stores across the eastern U.S. reported ample supplies of the 5C, but much thinner stockpiles of the 5S. An employee at one location estimated the 5S had outsold its cheaper sibling three-to-one.Today, Apple's online stores in the U.S. and China promise to ship the iPhone 5C within 24 hours. But iPhone 5S orders take two to three weeks.This month, Apple told its two assemblers, Taiwan-based Pegatron Corp. 4938.TW 0.00%and Hon Hai, that it would cut this quarter's orders for the iPhone 5C, the people familiar with the situation said.Pegatron, which analysts said assembles two-thirds of iPhone 5Cs, was told the order would be cut by less than 20%, a person familiar with the matter said. Hon Hai, which assembles the remaining 5Cs, was told the order would be cut by a third, two people familiar with the matter said.An executive at Hon Hai, which is also known as Foxconn, said it stopped hiring additional workers to produce the iPhone 5C because of the reduced order. A Hon Hai executive last month said the company would beef up its workforce, anticipating strong orders for the iPhone 5C.A component supplier was notified that the order for iPhone 5C parts would be cut by 50%, a person familiar with the matter said.The reduced orders could indicate weak demand, or could signal that Apple wanted to ensure adequate supply of the 5C so that potential buyers, who were more likely to be switching from competing phones, didn't have to walk out of a store empty-handed.That may have been compounded by the choice of colors, and a need for retailers to have supplies of each.

Apple's Dual iPhone