T-Mobile CEO John Legere says iPhone 6 demand 'unbelievable,' not affected by bogus 'bendgate'
Colorful T-Mobile chief John Legere called demand for Apple's new iPhone 6 "unbelievable" during a recent interview, later hinting that the scrappy fourth-place wireless carrier may have profited from the launch more than any other.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere
"We have 15 share points which means as this game goes on, all we need to is gain X amount of share periodically," Legere said of his company's position in the market at the annual GeekWire summit. "So when you get into the iPhone event, trust me, AT&T better have sold the most iPhones...but I would think relative to our size, history may end up showing that we were the biggest share-taker in the event."
T-Mobile has long been a haven for owners of unlocked iPhones, even before becoming an official Apple carrier partner. Leger again nodded in their direction, acknowledging the iPhone 6 series's restricted supply but noting that nearly any iPhone would work on the T-Mobile GSM network.
"It's a hard issue, because there's a major, major supply issue. I do wanna tell you though, any one of you folks, if they do appear, there's nothing that would stop you from buying a Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint device at the Apple Store and coming over and putting a T-Mobile SIM in it," he said to the assembled audience.
Legere's comments on Apple begin in the video below at about the 20-minute mark. It should be noted that the T-Mobile CEO uses profane language and the recording is uncensored.
In addition to sales numbers, Legere also commented on "bend-gate", calling it -- in so many words --?a non-issue.
"That is such horseshit," he said. "Listen, what the f**k did you need to see? The video of the guy that's doing this, and if you could have seen his face he probably would have been purple and the veins are coming out of his fingers. And the thing moves a little bit? Are you shitting me?"
"Let me help you about bendgate or whatever it was. It's not slowing down demand. The demand for these devices in the last few weeks is unbelievable."
T-Mobile CEO John Legere
"We have 15 share points which means as this game goes on, all we need to is gain X amount of share periodically," Legere said of his company's position in the market at the annual GeekWire summit. "So when you get into the iPhone event, trust me, AT&T better have sold the most iPhones...but I would think relative to our size, history may end up showing that we were the biggest share-taker in the event."
T-Mobile has long been a haven for owners of unlocked iPhones, even before becoming an official Apple carrier partner. Leger again nodded in their direction, acknowledging the iPhone 6 series's restricted supply but noting that nearly any iPhone would work on the T-Mobile GSM network.
"It's a hard issue, because there's a major, major supply issue. I do wanna tell you though, any one of you folks, if they do appear, there's nothing that would stop you from buying a Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint device at the Apple Store and coming over and putting a T-Mobile SIM in it," he said to the assembled audience.
Legere's comments on Apple begin in the video below at about the 20-minute mark. It should be noted that the T-Mobile CEO uses profane language and the recording is uncensored.
In addition to sales numbers, Legere also commented on "bend-gate", calling it -- in so many words --?a non-issue.
"That is such horseshit," he said. "Listen, what the f**k did you need to see? The video of the guy that's doing this, and if you could have seen his face he probably would have been purple and the veins are coming out of his fingers. And the thing moves a little bit? Are you shitting me?"
"Let me help you about bendgate or whatever it was. It's not slowing down demand. The demand for these devices in the last few weeks is unbelievable."
Comments
"That is such horseshit," he said. "Listen, what the f**k did you need to see? The video of the guy that's doing this, and if you could have seen his face he probably would have been purple and the veins are coming out of his fingers. And the thing moves a little bit? Are you shitting me?"
My new hero!
I just check all the Apple stores in the Montreal area (4 stores) and they are still all out of 6 Plus and only 1 store has the iphone 6 in space gray. Demand is still overwhelming.
Bend Man is back with an uncut version of bending an iPhone 6+.
He seems to be hurt by our comments.
Not sure if this went through. Apologies if I duplicate....
Legere is awesome! His attitude and no-BS/okay-kind-of-BS talk is the reason I started looking at T-Mobile seriously, and I switched to them several months ago. In my area at least, service is perfectly fine, and the new wifi options are making the reach even better. Happy so far! Legere pulled a rabbit out of his hat to make T-Mobile noticed again.
By the way, talked to a guy at a nearby T-Mobile store yesterday. He said they had no iPhone 6Pluses because Apple is holding back supply due to the bending non-issue. Could be sales-speak, but I suppose if Apple can do something to fix it, even if it really doesn't need it, then they will.
Actual bent iPhones is a physical issue with the devices themselves which has affected (last count I heard) a total of 9 individuals (out of well over 10 million).
Love this guy. Speaks his mind, no bullshit.
I just check all the Apple stores in the Montreal area (4 stores) and they are still all out of 6 Plus and only 1 store has the iphone 6 in space gray. Demand is still overwhelming.
Yes it is;
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/10/apples-iphone-6-sales-nearing-20-million-mark-in-first-month.html
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2014/10/apple-asks-suppliers-to-prepare-250-million-chipsets-for-q1-2015.html
Love it. Now someone do a mashup of the "bendy" video plus Legere's comments!
Reports say Chinese reservations are now over 8 million. If iPhone does this well the first weekend in China I suspect we'll get a press release from Apple.
Did Chinese regulators already approve the 6's for sale?
And no one can deny that the iPhone 6 is a structurally weaker device than the phone it replaced. We should want Apple to increase durability from generation to generation, not step backward. A slightly thicker iPhone 6 with a bigger battery would not effect usability.
Bendgate was a massive blessing in disguise for Apple. Apple had (has?) a real issue with the iPhone 6 release, and it was the contemporary release of iOS 8.1. Releasing an update which prevented users from using their phones should have been a true controversy (esp. considering the general feeling that Apple's OS updates have become increasingly buggy over the last couple of years), but instead, the media was too fixated on this bendgate non-issue to focus on the real problems.
I am looking forward to a Snow-iOS release to help cleanup the OS's technicals a bit, making it easier for Apple to release non-buggy updates in the future. Hopefully, increasing use of Swift should also help here.
It's not a catastrophe that will bring the company down. Most iPhone users will be uneffected, able to use their devices fine. But the bending issue is a serious matter. There's a weak point near the volume buttons that can lead to fracture with enough force applied. So long as Apple fixes it and replaces naturally broken devices under warranty, then all will be fine. Maybe these are the 9 people who (at the time) contacted Apple.
And no one can deny that the iPhone 6 is a structurally weaker device than the phone it replaced. We should want Apple to increase durability from generation to generation, not step backward. A slightly thicker iPhone 6 with a bigger battery would not effect usability.
I want my iPhone to be "durable enough" and no stronger. Durability comes at a cost of some combination of weight, size, cost, battery life, etc. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Did Apple err on the side of lighter/thinner this time? Not based on the evidence presented so far. In that case, there is nothing for Apple to "fix."
I wonder how many of those 9 actually bent it whilst filming a sensationalist youtube video, before taking it back for a new one ?
Enough force? With enough force, I can break a lot of things. But who is stupid enough to attempt to break their phones?
Evidently only those attempting to profit from it.
It's not a catastrophe that will bring the company down. Most iPhone users will be uneffected, able to use their devices fine. But the bending issue is a serious matter. There's a weak point near the volume buttons that can lead to fracture with enough force applied. So long as Apple fixes it and replaces naturally broken devices under warranty, then all will be fine. Maybe these are the 9 people who (at the time) contacted Apple.
And no one can deny that the iPhone 6 is a structurally weaker device than the phone it replaced. We should want Apple to increase durability from generation to generation, not step backward. A slightly thicker iPhone 6 with a bigger battery would not effect usability.
You are so right!
You know what else? If you drop your phone from high enough, the screen will crack! They should get on it immediately.
In fact I'm texting Tim Cook as we speak.