And here’s why?

– the 5C is last year’s model sold in colourful polycarbonate.  It gives buyers something different to buy but also differentiates it between the 5S.

– despite sales not being as high as anticipated it still is selling more than the 4S in the same period of its life cycle.

– it costs less to make than the 5 in metal so lines Apple’s bottom line even more.

– but what the 5C has done is create fever pitch sales of the 5S creating even more cash for Apple.

Result.

It was Sunday afternoon, and I happened to be in the Apple store in Plymouth.

On display were all the new iPhone 5S and 5C, the new iPad Air and all the other shiny Apple hardware and accessories. But to my surprise the iPhone 5S had hardly anybody browsing around them. In fact even the iPads weren’t gathering much attention. But the iPhone 5C tables were packed and this seemed the one item that was selling quicker than any of the others at that time of day.

The 5C was always meant to have a slow burn start, eventually surpassing the 5S in sales numbers. I’m unsure about the actual sales volumes in the long run, but it does show many people just like the different colours and aren’t too worried about the overall specs.

Apple make great products. But they make great products seem even better through great advertising and marketing.

The iPhone 5C is in my honest opinion is pure genius at highlighting this point. If Apple had simply kept the 5 unchanged and released the 5S, the difference between the 2 lines would be hardly recognisable. It would also not create a reason to move up the line to the 5S.

But my having last years phone, manufactured in coloured plastic bodies with a few tweaks to the battery and LTE bands, Apple managed to manufacture the iPhone 5 as the iPhone 5C for less money, but still charge a premium price. In the same light, this created a definite wedge between the design of the 5S. And then the 5S had a new colour and slightly different finish on all 3 finishes to further differentiate. For some reason and somehow, Apple made the 5S in Gold seem special.

But going back to the 5C, people are now buying last years model, in far greater numbers than they would have been if it had just been a 5 with £100 off the selling price.

The 5C will also sell well over Xmas and throughout the year. It is not meant to outsell the 5S, but in the course of time it might get close or even surpass it. Stories about low sales of the 5C are just hype without fact. It is last years phone so initial sales will always be stacked towards the Apple fans buying the latest.

I also know of many Apple fans who prefer the curved feel of the 5C over the 5S. Specs are so good now, colour might just be more important.

My final thought is that Apple have managed to take a 1 year old phone, give it a new colourful body, in a cheaper to manufacture finish and therefore sell for less without impacting profit margins, and sell it more of them than all the others companies except for Apple’s iPhone 5S. Genius if you ask me!

Best Buy rolled out the other day, a new promotion offering a minimum $100 Best Buy gift card with the purchase of any new iPhone, including the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. This offer requires the customer trade in a working smartphone and sign a new 2-year contract agreement. The promotion runs from today October 13th and ends on October 19th.

This offer made me wonder if Apple is secretly allowing sales promotions with its iPhones to help improve sales figures without diminishing the value of the actual product. The other thought is that retailers have bought an abundance of stock and have not sold as much as they would have thought.

There were articles in the press about Apple cutting the manufacturing numbers substantially of the iPhone 5C. However, I am not concerned about this. I simply believe Apple manufactured enough up front to try and make sure it had enough for the demand.

Clearly, the 5C is meant to be a great deal on a contract. Maybe the C stood for Contract not Colour?

Yesterday, pre orders went live for the iPhone 5C with the 32gb costing £549 the same as the 16gb iPhone 5S will be when that goes on sale next week.

The 5C is fundamentally the 5 but in a plastic polycarbonate shell. It’s not cheap sim free. In fact its very expensive but in line with other new  phones.

However, with previous iPhone pre orders the delivery date quickly extends beyond the first published delivery slot. Nearly 12 hours later and the 5C is still available for delivery on the 20th in all colours.

So either Apple had a massive amount of stock or they aren’t selling as fast. Apple might be saved by sales in China, but I wonder how many they are selling in existing territories.

The other aspect is seeing what the colours look like in the flesh. I really would want to see one before departing with my cash.

However, according to Phones4U the pre orders of the iphones are twice that of last year and are on target to be their most successful launch ever. Apparently 18-30 year olds are the top spenders. Probably, ditching their BlackBerry’s.

I will say I don’t think I will buy one. Have you or will you ?