Early iPhone 5C Preorder Signs Point to an Apple Sales Disaster

If iPhone pre-order figures, or lack thereof, are any indication of how well the new Apple-phone models will sell, Apple is in trouble.

If iPhone pre-order figures, or lack thereof, are any indication of how well the new Apple-phone models will sell, Apple is in trouble. All signs point to slower sales than previous years, say the tech bloggers, even though, so far, only one actual number has been released. China's second largest wireless company said that online preorders for the two new iPhones "exceeded 100,000 units." That's a lot lower than the 300,000 iPhone 5s pre-ordered from that same carrier a year ago, which might explain why the company's stock took a big hit yesterday (although it has bounced back some on Tuesday.)

That, however, only includes iPhone 5C pre-orders. iPhone 5S pre-orders only started in China today. Also, it's only one of the two carriers offering the iPhone in China.

The lack of figures from Apple on U.S. sales, however, have the bloggers more worried. Historically, within the first week of pre-orders — sometimes after the first day —  Apple puts out a press release touting the record-breaking sales, notes The Verge's Chris Welch. This year: Radio silence. Last year Apple sold two million phones in the first 24 hours of pre-orders. To be fair, Apple has only opened up the 5C, and not the 5S, for pre-order in the U.S so far. While Apple has decided to push the 5C with this new ad, lots of tech pundits — myself included — are holding out for the 5S.

The 5C, however, has not shown that much promise. In addition to a lack of sales figures from Apple, all of the models remain available for the 9/20 delivery date:

Last year, Apple had pushed back the delivery date two-weeks in less than 60 minutes — a record.

Again, this is only indicative of iPhone 5C demand. Apple has pushed that model harder, hoping to appeal to emerging markets — even though the phone isn't very cheap at all — and a younger demographic. The 5S, however, still gives Apple hope. So far, pre-order sales for that in China have shown some promise. After a day on the market, only the unlocked 16GB black 5s is still available in Beijing and Hong Kong, according to Apple Insider. As you can see in this screen shot via The Next Web, that's the only model in the black:

If the Chinese market, which would theoretically want the cheaper C over the more expensive S, is going for the fancier model, the same thing could happen in the U.S., where consumers have spent hundreds of dollars on new iPhones for years.