Apple's iPhone 6 Plus selling unexpectedly well as supply equalizes, says T-Mobile CEO

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2014
Outspoken T-Mobile CEO John Legere on Monday said Apple's iPhone 6 Plus "phablet" is generating unprecedented demand for America's fourth-largest wireless carrier, and at one point accounted for about 55 percent of the company's smartphone sales.



In an interview at the Code/Mobile conference, Legere told Re/code's Ina Fried that, while both iPhone 6 models are selling well, the iPhone 6 Plus outperformed T-Mobile's estimates. The carrier was expecting the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6 to account for about 75 to 80 percent of all new iPhone sales.

"Overall demand for us was huge," Legere said. "We got hammered by it."

Apple CEO Tim Cook also noted high demand for the 6 Plus during the company's fourth quarter conference call last week, saying supply may not catch up until 2015. Legere sees 6 Plus supply slowly making up ground on demand, but it's uncertain when customers will be able to simply walk in off the street and find one in stock.

Legere is acutely aware of the iPhone's importance to T-Mobile's success and getting the Apple handset on the carrier's network was one of his main goals when entering as CEO. T-Mobile today announced quarterly results, with a best-ever performance of 1.4 million post-paid net adds and service revenues at $5.7 billion, up 10.6 percent year-over-year.

"Get on your knees, crawl over there, do whatever the hell you have to do," Legere remembered saying to employees. "Your store without the iPhone in it is shit."

On the topic of Apple SIM, the T-Mobile chief again went over how the new micro-SIM card works. Apple introduced the multi-carrier micro-SIM with the latest Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, advertising that users are able to hop from carrier to carrier without swapping out cards. When the tablets went on sale, however, it was discovered that units connected to AT&T's network were being locked in, requiring customers get a replacement Apple SIM from Apple or their new carrier when switching.

Wireless companies participating in the Apple SIM program -- AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint in the U.S. -- get iPads to sell with Apple SIMs already tied to their respective services, with AT&T permanently locking the card in to its network. Cellular iPads purchased from an Apple Store are not tethered to any one carrier out-of-the-box and may therefore be the better choice for consumers at this time.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 58
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    So Tallest Ski, you ready to take back your ultra-confident assertion that 6+ sales would only be a tiny fraction of 6 sales? You mocked me for suggesting that they would't be that far off. 

  • Reply 2 of 58
    jason98jason98 Posts: 768member
    "Your store without the iPhone in it is shit."

    To all android trolls - piss off and forget the road to your local t-mobile store :P
  • Reply 3 of 58
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    Amazing what happens when you actually give customers what they want instead of what you think they should want.
  • Reply 4 of 58
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    slurpy wrote: »
    So Tallest Ski, you ready to take back your ultra-confident assertion that 6+ sales would only be a tiny fraction of 6 sales? You mocked me for suggesting that they would't be that far off. 

    Don't hold your breath, man.
  • Reply 5 of 58
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    jason98 wrote: »
    "Your store without the iPhone in it is shit."

    To all android trolls - piss off and forget the road to your local t-mobile store :P

    Way to bring up Android and its fans in an article that has nothing to do with either, or in other words, be a complete troll.
  • Reply 6 of 58
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    slurpy wrote: »
    So Tallest Ski, you ready to take back your ultra-confident assertion that 6+ sales would only be a tiny fraction of 6 sales? You mocked me for suggesting that they would't be that far off. 

    Actually there is still a possibility he may be correct - in the long term.

    This is the first chance that users of Apple's ecosystem have had the opportunity to buy a big phone and many may be doing so initially just because they can, or because they think their requirements need a phone that size, or because they just want an all-in-one device that will allow them to eliminate the additional purchase of a tablet.

    However, a year or so down the track they may find the size vs convenience trade-off no longer attractive and make their next purchase the smaller of the two options available.

    Then again these just may be Apple's version of high-quality hot cakes.

    I say wait and see and see what plays out a year or so from now.
  • Reply 7 of 58
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    cash907 wrote: »
    Way to bring up Android and its fans in an article that has nothing to do with either, or in other words, be a complete troll.

    What part of "Your store without the iPhone in it is shit," doesn't imply all non non-iOS-based phones, which, at the time he said it, pretty much means Android-based devices if you're talking about smartphones, do you not understand?
  • Reply 8 of 58
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    T-Mobile today announced <a href="http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/media-kits/t-mobile-us-reports-third-quarter-2014-results.htm">quarterly results</a>, with a best-ever performance of 1.4 million post-paid net adds and service revenues at $5.7 billion, up 10.6 percent year-over-year.

    For comparison, AT&T announced 785,000 and Verizon 1,520,000 postpaid net subscriber additions for that same period. That's an amazing change and I foresee T-Mobile to continue to grow due to the way they are treating their customers these days.
  • Reply 9 of 58
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GTR View Post





    Actually there is still a possibility he may be correct - in the long term.



    This is the first chance that users of Apple's ecosystem have had the opportunity to buy a big phone and many may be doing so initially just because they can, or because they think their requirements need a phone that size, or because they just want an all-in-one device that will allow them to eliminate the additional purchase of a tablet.



    However, a year or so down the track they may find the size vs convenience trade-off no longer attractive and make their next purchase the smaller of the two options available.



    Then again these just may be Apple's version of high-quality hot cakes.



    I say wait and see and see what plays out a year or so from now.



    Long term in technology?  I think I just pissed myself.  A year from now is meaningless...

  • Reply 10 of 58
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cash907 View Post



    Way to bring up Android and its fans in an article that has nothing to do with either, or in other words, be a complete troll.

     

    Anytime is a good time to bring up Fandroids and how tragically pathetic Android is!

     

    Android is losing ground in much of the civilized world amongst those with the means to truly choose what they desire. 

     

    The overwhelming majority of Android phones ever made are pure junk. It is shameful how they even qualify to be called smartphones. While older Apple phones get used and passed on to new happy users, Android phones that are not even that old are already obsolete and ready for the landfill. If I were an environmentalist, I'd be mighty upset.

     

    It's not surprising at all that demand for the iPhone 6 is off the charts!

     

    I've said this before, but Apple Pay is a HUGE feature! People want convenience and even more importantly, they demand security, especially in this day and age! Android offers neither, quite the contrary! Android is about as convenient as getting an enema and it is about as secure as letting a convicted pedophile babysit your children.

  • Reply 11 of 58
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    gigawire wrote: »
    I think I just pissed myself.

    I suggest you make an appointment with a urologist right away.
    A year from now is meaningless...

    Which is why Apple's competitors have CEOs that can only think in 3 month intervals. Smart companies pan for the future.
  • Reply 12 of 58
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    I suggest you make an appointment with a urologist right away.

    Which is why Apple's competitors have CEOs that can only think in 3 month intervals. Smart companies pan for the future.

     

    Do you just hang around here to get your post count up?  I ask because your posts tend to be nothing more than re-iterating what someone else said....

  • Reply 13 of 58
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    gigawire wrote: »
    Do you just hang around here to get your post count up?  I ask because your posts tend to be nothing more than re-iterating what someone else said....

    Perhaps it needs to be reiterated if you don't understand that 12 months time is not some meaningless timeframe in technology.
  • Reply 14 of 58
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Perhaps it needs to be reiterated if you don't understand that 12 months time is not some unfathomable timeframe in technology.



    Really?  Do you not see that you are only restating the point I made?

     

    Oh well, get your post count up...

  • Reply 15 of 58
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gigawire View Post

     

    Long term in technology?  I think I just pissed myself.  A year from now is meaningless...


     

    So you believe that facts are only facts when adjusted to a timeline of your choosing, is that correct?

     

    Which is the most successful computer company in the world? 

     

    Do you only look at the period from 1990 to 2000 and declare Microsoft the most successful? Or do you look at the section from 2000 to 2014 and decide that Apple was?

     

    You may also wish to consider the following:

     

    "In Europe, consumers don't have much use for phablets. Research from Kantar ComTech shows that although people initially want to trade up from smaller phones (56 percent of those who own a 4-inch one, such as the iPhone 5, get a bigger screen when they switch, and only 13 percent move to a smaller one), a whopping 56 percent of phablet owners downgrade with their next purchase. This isn't the case in Asia: Take a subway ride in Hong Kong or get on a bus in Singapore, and you'll see locals peering -- and talking -- into oversized smartphones. Unlike Morita's employees, these people put up with the impaired portability of phablets by choice."

     

    (http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-06-25/bigger-isn-t-better-for-apple)

     

    One month or so after a product's launch is considerably too early to make an accurate prediction of whether that product will be successful or not.

     

    TS could be right. He could be wrong.

     

    But, as Tim Cook himself has said, analysing single data points is not an effective way of ascertaining accurate information.

  • Reply 16 of 58
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    gigawire wrote: »

    Really?  Do you not see that you are only restating the point I made?

    Oh well, get your post count up...

    No, not it's not the point you made.

    GTR wrote, "...see what plays out a year or so from now,' and you made a smarmy reply, "A year from now is meaningless."

    I'm candidly telling you that a year from now is not meaningless.


    PS: If people like you had better reading comprehension my post count would be much lower.
  • Reply 17 of 58
    dnd0psdnd0ps Posts: 253member

    The iPhone's success is catharsis for anyone who values originality and feels injustice at Microsoft's PC monopoly they obtained using stolen technology.

  • Reply 18 of 58
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member

    Not surprising at all. The first few days I was conscious of the size but after using the iPhone 6+ for nearly a month the size is now a total non issue. I don't even think about it. I find it's even more pocketable than the 4S since it's thinner, lighter, smoother, and the weight is more distributed. I keep thinking I left it behind because I don't notice it in my pocket. What is shocking now is when I pick up my old 4S and realize just how teeny tiny the screen now appears. Call it acclimation, adaptation, or brain recalibration, the iPhone 6+ is now my new norm as far as size and functionality is concerned. What is still taking some getting used to is the magnificence of the display. Playing a video in landscape mode is still awe inspiring. Maybe that sense of awe will also fade into normalcy with time but so far it is still a stunning differentiator for me.

  • Reply 19 of 58
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member

    I remember all the criticism, abuse and derision leveled at Samsung for the Note.  Looks like it was unwarranted.

  • Reply 20 of 58
    "Your store without the iPhone in it is shit" Haha, I like this guy
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