iPhone 6 Plus accounts for one-quarter of new iPhone sales, expected to boost Apple's margins

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2014
A pair of new surveys released this week both affirm that the new 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus has achieved about 25 percent of Apple's total iPhone sales, a trend that market watchers think will be a boon for the company's bottom line.




Consumer Intelligence Research Partners released a quarterly survey this week detailed by Steven Milunovich of UBS, which found that the iPhone 6 Plus accounted for 24 percent of total iPhone sales for the last two weeks of the September quarter. CIRP's poll found that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 accounted for 62 percent of iPhone sales during that span, leaving the remaining 14 percent for legacy models.

The performance of the iPhone 6 Plus found by CIRP is similar to a poll of 800 consumers in the U.S. and U.K. on iPhone 6 purchase intent, conducted by by Keith Bachman of BMO Capital Markets. That survey suggested that between 25 and 30 percent of all iPhone 6-series sales in calendar 2015 will be the larger iPhone 6 Plus.

The BMO survey also found that about 50 percent of users said they plan to buy an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus with 64 gigabytes of storage capacity. Apple incentivized upgrades this year by eliminating the 32-gigabyte tier, allowing users to upgrade from 16 to 64 gigabytes for $100 more, and 128 gigabytes for a $200 premium.
The $100 premium for the iPhone 6 Plus, as well as greater value offered in high-capacity models, are expected to drive up iPhone ASPs.
Add to the mix the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus has an on-contract starting price of $299, or $100 more than the iPhone 6, and analysts expect higher margins and average selling price for this year's iPhone lineup. Both Bachman and Milunovich said in their separate notes to investors this week that they believe consumers are more likely this year to upgrade to higher storage capacities, resulting in a boon for Apple's bottom line.

The two surveys also suggest that sales will increase this year due to both switchers and upgraders. CIRP found that iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c owners were upgrading than their predecessors did a year ago, while BMO's poll found that 34 percent of Android users plan to switch to an iPhone.

Wall Street will have a better idea of how the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are affecting Apple's margins next week, when the company reports its quarterly earnings on Monday. The latest iPhones launched just before the end of Apple's September quarter, reaching 10 million units in their first three days alone.

Even legacy models continue to sell well, with a recent poll of U.S. carriers finding that the iPhone 5s continues to see "steady demand." Canaccord Genuity's survey of the four largest American wireless providers found that the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5s were respectively the top three selling handsets at AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 57
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,695member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

    Got my 5.5 yesterday.

    Its heavenly.

     

    What an unbeatable line up:

     

    4.0

    4.7

    5.5

     

    all in beautiful metal

     

    Android top end phones will be a thing of the past very soon.

    No way can they compete with Apple at the $550-$950 price range.


    iPhone 6 / 6 Plus is a thing of beauty, no doubt.  OTOH, the new Nexus 6 , along with Android Lollipop are also looking very nice.  From what I've seen, & read, this is the only high-end Android phone that can give the iPhone a run for its money. 

  • Reply 2 of 57

    I am surprised for the lack of articles on how people are option for the 64GB models to ensure future updates are easier without having to delete photos and videos or even apps.  The extra $100 no matter the model must help with the margins.

  • Reply 3 of 57
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

    Problem is they are the same price as the iPhone.  Why buy the imitation when the real thing is the same price?


     

    That is true. I was over on a forum populated by many Fandroids yesterday, and almost every one of them was complaining about the price. It's almost double of what those kind of people are used to paying, and most of them simply wont be getting it, because it's priced out of their range.

     

    It's also huge. It's taller, thicker, wider and heavier than the 6+, which is large to begin with. It's too big for most people. Not everybody wants a phablet.

  • Reply 4 of 57
    Well, I can tell ya I sure am enjoying my upgrade in storage. 128Gb finally feels like I have enough space. I am actually glad that the Apple Store near me was sold out of everything else, otherwise I may not have opted for it. Very thankful. And it is awfully nice to see some Android owners switching over.
  • Reply 5 of 57
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mehran View Post

     

    I am surprised for the lack of articles on how people are option for the 64GB models to ensure future updates are easier without having to delete photos and videos or even apps.  The extra $100 no matter the model must help with the margins.


     

    I hope they do the same for the iPads being released today.

     

    Last time I bought an iPad, I paid $100 more to bump it up to 32GB. I wont be complaining if I get 64GB for the same price.

  • Reply 6 of 57
    jj.yuanjj.yuan Posts: 213member

    1 in 4 choose the big one. This is about right.

     

    No one in my family wants the jumbo iPhone. Although I prefer the regular size, I can understand that some people may like the jumbo size. I solute Apple for making both sizes.

  • Reply 7 of 57
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,311member

    I checked the local Apple store in Reno for stock; looks like there are many more choices for iPhone 6+ than even a few days ago. I'm guessing that Apple is finally getting most of the preorders out of the way. I hope this is true for other stores as well.

  • Reply 8 of 57
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

     

    That is true. I was over on a forum populated by many Fandroids yesterday, and almost every one of them was complaining about the price. It's almost double of what those kind of people are used to paying, and most of them simply wont be getting it, because it's priced out of their range.

     

    It's also huge. It's taller, thicker, wider and heavier than the 6+, which is large to begin with. It's too big for most people. Not everybody wants a phablet.




    Pretty much. Actually, I think the price is the second biggest complaint. The top one I saw is that it's 6". Funny, now that Apple's taken away the "we have bigger screens" advantage, how many Droids are coming out of the woodwork to say "I want good 4.7" phones now!". Guess they've finally decided to admit 5.5" is too big for most people.

     

    Most of them seem to be interested in Sony's new Xperia X3 Compact.

     

    Also, I do hope they just make the base storage on the iPads 32GB. Every other iDevice has seen its base storage go up over the years except the iPad. Apple should do 32/64/128/256 now.

  • Reply 9 of 57
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mehran View Post

     

    I am surprised for the lack of articles on how people are option for the 64GB models to ensure future updates are easier without having to delete photos and videos or even apps.  The extra $100 no matter the model must help with the margins.




    I think the trade-in deals helped as well, I had no qualms about getting the 64GB model because it only cost me $100 upfront after my $200 trade-in. I was prepared to go 128 if they hadn't had a 64GB Space Gray in stock (was 22nd in store, didn't know how many they had).

  • Reply 10 of 57
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by CanukStorm View Post

     

    iPhone 6 / 6 Plus is a thing of beauty, no doubt.  OTOH, the new Nexus 6 , along with Android Lollipop are also looking very nice.  From what I've seen, & read, this is the only high-end Android phone that can give the iPhone a run for its money. 




    Problem is the Nexus line does not sell very well at all (except to Android purists) and we never hear of any actual sales figures.

  • Reply 11 of 57
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    I think 16/64/128 is fine for iPad

     

    For many 16GB is enough.  Most will probably opt for the 64GB.




    16GB isn't enough for anybody, especially on an iPad. You sound like Bill Gates.

     

    With iOS 8 that leaves you 11.7GB. Too little. Especially as apps continue to cache data and won't delete it. I had to remove Flipboard and Facebook because they had cached 1.7GB and 1.1GB just by themselves (which is utterly ridiculous, and should either be limited or Apple should give us the option to delete the "Documents and Data" section of each app).

     

    There's a point where going for greater margins is just too far, and doing the 16/64/128 on the iPad will be too far.

  • Reply 12 of 57
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,311member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     



    16GB isn't enough for anybody, especially on an iPad. You sound like Bill Gates.

     

    With iOS 8 that leaves you 11.7GB. Too little. Especially as apps continue to cache data and won't delete it. I had to remove Flipboard and Facebook because they had cached 1.7GB and 1.1GB just by themselves (which is utterly ridiculous, and should either be limited or Apple should give us the option to delete the "Documents and Data" section of each app).

     

    There's a point where going for greater margins is just too far, and doing the 16/64/128 on the iPad will be too far.


    You'd be surprised how many folks don't actually load much media or apps on there system, so having a $100 dollar cheaper device makes sense, whether iPad or iPhone,. But just based on the fact that iOS 8 OTA upgrades have stalled on lower spec'ed iPhones makes me think that Apple would benefit from bumping up the minimums on the iPad's to 32. I guess we will know for sure in a couple of hours.

  • Reply 13 of 57
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Well, I have to eat some crow here as I was one the malcontent genius-steins who claimed both iPhone 6’s were too big and that the faithful wouldn’t go for them. My wife and I finally became iPhone users yesterday with two iPhone 6 64GB models. There are now six iPhone 6’s in the family (myself, wife, oldest son, daughter, son-in-law, nephew) with youngest son probably next to go. Oldest son thought at first the 6 was too big since he was used to the 5S. But now that his personal phone is a 6 his work phone, a 5S, seems small to him, a matter of adaptation I suppose. 

     

    So mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa from a former 6 critic.

  • Reply 14 of 57
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Where are the 6+ is a failure articles like the ones they had for the 5C?
  • Reply 15 of 57

    But but but but people here told me there's no demand for the 6+, it'll be cancelled next year and the 4in mode will come back. Heh. 

  • Reply 16 of 57
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     

    Well, I have to eat some crow here as I was one the malcontent genius-steins who claimed both iPhone 6’s were too big and that the faithful wouldn’t go for them. My wife and I finally became iPhone users yesterday with two iPhone 6 64GB models. There are now six iPhone 6’s in the family (myself, wife, oldest son, daughter, son-in-law, nephew) with youngest son probably next to go. Oldest son thought at first the 6 was too big since he was used to the 5S. But now that his personal phone is a 6 his work phone, a 5S, seems small to him, a matter of adaptation I suppose. 

     

    So mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa from a former 6 critic.


     

    I jumped from a 4 to a 6 without much issue. But any time I help someone with a 4 or 4S I'm just shocked at how small the screen seems now. I also have my old 1G and 2G iPod touches, they're just comically small.

  • Reply 17 of 57
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by CanukStorm View Post

     

    iPhone 6 / 6 Plus is a thing of beauty, no doubt.  OTOH, the new Nexus 6 , along with Android Lollipop are also looking very nice.  From what I've seen, & read, this is the only high-end Android phone that can give the iPhone a run for its money. 




    and in a strange way, this is a good thing.

     

    Nexus will further  segment high end Android sales,  and Google's ecosystem split Samsung's ecosystem. 

    In the end, all phones will be as good as Apple, or terrible. In terms of 'phone/computer' capabilities.  Metcalf's law will drive future sales.

     

    It will be the network(cloud) ecosystem that will drive future sales.  And Apple controls the ecosystem better than Android (in this world 2 << 1), The eventual migration will be to the best HW Ecosystem combination.  Nexus and Samsung will then implode by having to lose HW profits by lowering prices to keep market share within the android sphere.   They drive themselves into 'cheapness'

     

    iOS wins.  Probably living with 25% of the total phone market, but the 25% that will be willing to pay for the services they get, and buy value added services on top of that.   The Remaining 75% will prefer the 'least expensive' solution to solving the simple problem:  I need mobile phone and internet plus what can do 1-3 critical applications for me [e.g. facebook, camera, ebay, or whatever].   And I think you'll start to see a new type of 'feature phone' where the primary interface is an app ecosphere [gaming android, kindle android, amazon prime android, NBCUniversalComcast Android, NFL Android etc.]  

     

    Under iOS, each of those will just be a 'great' app.   

     

    Fragmentation will be like biology.  All the bacteria will consume the biomass but maintain a balance such that none will take over, but multi-cell plant life will grow strong and tall above the muck.

  • Reply 18 of 57
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    I think the percentage will rise on the 6 Plus once they get the supply channel geared up to meet demand. With the general growth in smartphone sizes I think the 6 Plus will hit 40-45% by the six month mark. I moved from a 4S to a 6 Plus and after a few days I don't even think about the size difference. The smoothness of the 6 Plus chassis versus the relatively boxy shape of the 4S makes the 6 Plus less noticeable in my pocket than the 4S. Seeing that amazing screen come to life every time I press the home button is truly smile inducing. I second the motion on the benefits of the 128 GB storage. No more song culling or down sampling required to make everything fit and still have decent additional capacity.

    The one thing that I have definitely noticed with the 6 Plus is that I am reaching for my iPad Mini a lot less. Spending hours on the iPhone is no longer a big deal. In fact I'm hoping Apple moves some of the features like landscape mode from the 6 Plus to the IPad Mini. The iPad Mini is a great product but it's kind of getting squeezed on the low end by the 6 Plus. In the end everything is good and now we have more choices.

    Let's see what we learn in a couple of hours.
  • Reply 19 of 57
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    I've been saying the whole time that sales would be 4:1. That's 4 iPhone 6's to 1 iPhone 6 though for China I expect it to be even maybe a bit higher for the 6 because Phablets are very popular in China being as most people only have the 1 device to do everything on.

    Myself, I ended up getting the 6 with 128 Gig's. Why not, I help onto my 4 for 4 years, so I hold onto my cell phones for quite a while. It was cool when backing up my 32 gig iPhone 4 into itunes and almost being full, and then Restoring onto my 6 and seeing a mostly empty bar.

    I think iPads should start at 64 Gig's just because you use up space so FAST! 16 Gig's on a iPhone is just silly.
  • Reply 20 of 57
    jj.yuan wrote: »
    1 in 4 choose the big one. This is about right.

    It's even a higher ratio than the jumbo sized 'Android phablets'. Still, a bit of a bummer for Apple, spending all those years trying to figure out how to create this large phone, and not 'everyone' wanting it. They really made it just to cover all basis, which isn't exactly their MO.

    jungmark wrote: »
    Where are the 6+ is a failure articles like the ones they had for the 5C?

    This is that very article; only 1 in 4 are 6+.
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