Apple may soon be scaling down orders for iPhone 5 parts as evidence mounts that the competition is fast catching up.

The move, thought to be prompted by a lukewarm consumer demand, is further proof that Asian rivals have considerably weakened Apple’s grip on the smartphones market, says a Reuters.com report.

Sales of the new iPhone 5 have not been as strong as expected. Disappointed that the new smartphone was only an incremental improvement over the previous version, many Apple fans decided to switch to Android-based offerings.

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