We haven't heard much about iPhone 5 sales since it first launched this past fall, but according to The Wall Street Journal, the device has received "weaker-than-expected demand." The newspaper cites people familiar with the matter who say that Apple has cut its orders for iPhone 5 parts. The only explicit example of such cuts is that orders for displays during the January to March period have been slashed in half, according to sources. Only one source is cited as saying that the order decrease expands beyond screens.

It's important to note that a drop in part orders does not necessarily mean that iPhone 5 sales are disappointing. Apple could be prepping for a new model and it already has all the components it needs until it's released, or the company could be switching part suppliers. However, a separate report from Nikkei corroborates that iPhone 5 screen makers Sharp and Japan Display have had their orders for displays cut in half during the first calendar quarter. According to the report, Apple had planned to source a total of 65 million displays from the two companies during that period, but that number has been reduced "in response to lower than planned global sales of Apple's iPhone 5." Nikkei adds that Apple previously took on "more than half of the investment costs" at one of two Japan Display factories that manufactures screens for the iPhone 5. LG is Apple's other major manufacturer of iPhone 5 displays, behind Sharp and Japan Display, but it isn't clear that its orders have also sustained cuts.