Based on supply chain checks, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said that Apple is cutting its iPhone order for the 3rd quarter of 2013 to 25 to 30 million units from 40 to 45 million. The reduction in order indicates the continuous downward slide suffered by the company founded by the late Steve Jobs under the stewardship of Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Mr Misek added that for the last quarter of the year, Apple is also reducing its original build plan to 50 to 55 million from the original 60 to 55 million, Business Insider quoted the analyst's new note.

The daily pointed out that if Mr Misek's figures are correct, the iPhone business of the Cupertino-based firm would expand by only 4.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis for the 2013 holiday quarter, resulting in the analyst slashing his price target to $405 from $420 on the new iPhone build plans.

The Sydney Morning Herald's Adam Turner is similarly asking if Apple has lost its crown despite giving the iOS7 a major facelift and new iGadgets about to be launched soon.

"These days Google's Android is wrestling away Apple's grip on the gadget market. Former Apple chief Steve Jobs famously accused Android of copying the iPhone, but these days Apple has reached the point where it's now blatantly copying ideas from Android," Mr Turner wrote.

He pointed out that most of the features of the new iPhone are already in Android while the new look of Apple's iOS7 heavily borrows from Windows Phone 8. These includes the pull-down Notification Centre introduced with iOS5 and the new Control Centre in iOS7.

Given these developments, Mr Turner foresees little in the iOS7 facelift reason for Android users to shift to iPhones, while based on the company's track record, he sees the iPhone 5S being based on the iPhone 5 design instead of a complete redesign.

He said that while a minor hardware refresh could satisfy the Apple loyal follower, techies are now waiting to see if Apple would release a cheaper iPhone to stop the threat from Android competitors with affordable prices.

"Now Apple's crown has lost its shine, it will need to work harder this year to win new loyal followers," the columnist wrote.

Meanwhile, as Apple share prices continued its downward trend, closing on Friday at $413.50, reports said that Apple filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Board of Directors resolution that ties Mr Cook's bonus directly to the company's share performance.

Apple SVP and General Counsel Bruce Sewell said the SEC filing is an initiative from Mr Cook to apply a performance metric to his outstanding 2011 CEO equity award and any potential future awards.

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