Apple catches up with iPhone 6 demand, US online store lists all models 'in stock'
Consumers in the United States will no longer face a backlog when purchasing an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus from Apple's online store, as supplies of the popular smartphones appear to have reached parity with demand nearly four months after their release.
All but one configuration are now listed as "in stock," and spot checks at Apple retail outlets in the southern U.S. show most models available for immediate in-store pickup. The lone holdout --?the sim-free iPhone 6 Plus -- comes with a lead time of just one day.
The iPhone 6 series has proven to be Apple's most popular iPhone lineup ever, with at least one analysis suggesting that Apple may have sold as many as 69 million of the devices over the holidays. As a result, Apple has struggled to keep up with demand.
Shipping times slipped to as long as 4 weeks for the larger iPhone 6 Plus just one day after pre-orders went live last September, while the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 say waits of 7 to 10 days. Those queues grew shorter in December, though the never dropped below one day.
Supply also appears to be improving in Europe, though Apple's hottest market --?China --?remains underserved. The company still requires buyers to pre-register online in order to reserve a device for purchase, and recent on-site checks at Apple retail outlets in Hong Kong showed dozens of customers lined up to purchase a new handset throughout the day.
All but one configuration are now listed as "in stock," and spot checks at Apple retail outlets in the southern U.S. show most models available for immediate in-store pickup. The lone holdout --?the sim-free iPhone 6 Plus -- comes with a lead time of just one day.
The iPhone 6 series has proven to be Apple's most popular iPhone lineup ever, with at least one analysis suggesting that Apple may have sold as many as 69 million of the devices over the holidays. As a result, Apple has struggled to keep up with demand.
Shipping times slipped to as long as 4 weeks for the larger iPhone 6 Plus just one day after pre-orders went live last September, while the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 say waits of 7 to 10 days. Those queues grew shorter in December, though the never dropped below one day.
Supply also appears to be improving in Europe, though Apple's hottest market --?China --?remains underserved. The company still requires buyers to pre-register online in order to reserve a device for purchase, and recent on-site checks at Apple retail outlets in Hong Kong showed dozens of customers lined up to purchase a new handset throughout the day.
Comments
So, an entire financial quarter where they couldn't meet demand fully. Impressive.
This is typical. Remember that U.S. sales now accounts for less than half of Apple's total revenues. Just reaching supply-demand parity in the U.S. isn't particularly significant, especially in light of the fact that Apple still has not fully rolled out the new handsets to the rest of the world.
Heck, I'd venture to guess that some smaller regional American mobile operators still don't have access to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Supply meeting demand here in the U.S. will mean even less in the future. Apple is a global corporation and one must take a larger worldview, and not have blinders just on the United States. If you were an AAPL shareholder, you might understand this.
It is foolish to fixate on U.S. domestic sales activity for large multinational corporations.
i worry that the heavy mix of international sales will negatively effect their margins due to currency flux. hopefully the market will handle that well. they must know by now it's going to happen, right? must be priced into the stock already.
No need to worry. We all know that the quarterly results on 1/27 will be spun into a negative by the jerk punditry/analyst cadre and AAPL will drop. You can take that to the bank.
They are caught up, eh? Time to introduce the iPhone 6S.
My Apple iPhone 6+ is the best iPhone ever. I bought the first iPhone in 2007 for $600 and was not disappointed, knowing that it was the first iteration. It was still impressive in relation to past phones I'd had. Each new one over the years was substantially better than the previous version. And now the 6+ is a really fantastic $1K pocket computer that makes calls.
I stood in line for it from the evening before the initial release day and had a good time that night meeting and talking with other like-minded people.
It was again heartening later see other Apple stores with their respective waiting lines, lines which re-formed on subsequent days.
I understand that Apple can never really know how a new product will be received or what the demand will be, and that they can't really be expected to somehow get it right by actually having enough product to satisfy that demand.
I doubt that any reasonable person would mind waiting for a quality Apple product that was in short supply.
I'm mainly happy that Apple just keeps its head down and keeps doing its successful actions and keeps prospering and expanding.
This is typical. Remember that U.S. sales now accounts for less than half of Apple's total revenues. Just reaching supply-demand parity in the U.S. isn't particularly significant, especially in light of the fact that Apple still has not fully rolled out the new handsets to the rest of the world.
Heck, I'd venture to guess that some smaller regional American mobile operators still don't have access to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Supply meeting demand here in the U.S. will mean even less in the future. Apple is a global corporation and one must take a larger worldview, and not have blinders just on the United States. If you were an AAPL shareholder, you might understand this.
It is foolish to fixate on U.S. domestic sales activity for large multinational corporations.
No, it's foolish to only fixate on U.S. sales, but the U.S. is still a large nation, the dollar is strong and the economy, although still not great for lower and some middle-income people without skills, is getting better every week (although from my observations on the NYC subway, being working class hasn't seemed to stop a lot of people from owning new phones). Europe, Japan and Russia are in a rut and China's growth has slowed considerably, although it's still obviously a growing market with 4x the population of the U.S.
And I am an Apple shareholder.
No, it's foolish to only fixate on U.S. sales...
Well, that's a real problem at Apple rumor sites.
There are a *LOT* of people here who seem to think that the world is the United States. They're probably teens and people in their twenties who have never stepped foot outside of the U.S., maybe not out of their home state. All they seem to know is mom's basement.
And no, those people aren't shareholders. Heck, a bunch of them think Apple's stock symbol is APPL.
Even if they had a couple of fanboy shares, they don't know diddley-squat about corporate finances or global economics.
i worry that the heavy mix of international sales will negatively effect their margins due to currency flux. hopefully the market will handle that well. they must know by now it's going to happen, right? must be priced into the stock already.
I would hope so, but with Apple, you never know.
There is no doubt that the numbers will be less impressive than they would have been on a constant-currency basis. It could have been worse: fortunately, the CNY has depreciated by less than 2% during the Oct-Dec quarter against the USD. The results from the EU, Japan, and Latin America will take a bit of a hit.
Well, that's a real problem at Apple rumor sites.
There are a *LOT* of people here who seem to think that the world is the United States. They're probably teens and people in their twenties who have never stepped foot outside of the U.S., maybe not out of their home state. All they seem to know is mom's basement.
And no, those people aren't shareholders. Heck, a bunch of them think Apple's stock symbol is APPL.
Even if they had a couple of fanboy shares, they don't know diddley-squat about corporate finances or global economics.
They may know a lot more than you think. But people care a lot more about what affects them personally than what is going on in the rest of the world. Their arthritis is more important to them than thousands of people dying in Syria.
I don't give a hoot whether some guy in China gets his iPhone 6. I care about my iPhone 6. Does that make me ignorant of corporate finances or global economics? Not this retired CEO. Rather, it is reality: the things that command my attention the most are the things that affect me.
In the restaurant business they say that the customer's world ends five feet from his table. It is true. But the fact is a huge percentage of those customers have worked in restaurants at one time or another. They know the food does not just magically appear in front of them. But they still pay no attention to things not in their immediate vicinity. They don't care whether the kitchen got the orders mixed up; it is the waiter's fault and they will tip accordingly.
Cue the 'nobody wants the iPhone'; 'Market saturated'; 'Apple going out of business'… in 3-2-1...
They may know a lot more than you think. But people care a lot more about what affects them personally than what is going on in the rest of the world. Their arthritis is more important to them than thousands of people dying in Syria.
I don't give a hoot whether some guy in China gets his iPhone 6. I care about my iPhone 6. Does that make me ignorant of corporate finances or global economics? Not this retired CEO. Rather, it is reality: the things that command my attention the most are the things that affect me.
In the restaurant business they say that the customer's world ends five feet from his table. It is true. But the fact is a huge percentage of those customers have worked in restaurants at one time or another. They know the food does not just magically appear in front of them. But they still pay no attention to things not in their immediate vicinity. They don't care whether the kitchen got the orders mixed up; it is the waiter's fault and they will tip accordingly.
My opinion is that you're simply describing self-centered, ignorant people. If you ask me, there is too much of this behavior/mindset in this world (especially the feeling of entitlement in the USA) and feel that it is regressive behavior. It's acceptable for a 3-13 year old to think that way but not mature people that have been taught the virtues of patience, sharing and selflessness.
Those who take an interest and use their intuition to determine whether the problem in a restaurant is the fault of the waiting staff or the kitchen will usually not penalize the waiting staff. It's when the my waiter (or waitress) fails to inform me of a problem or serves the mix up that was caused in the kitchen anyway, or simply doesn't catch it. Only then will I take action. In this instance, my dissatisfaction will be reflected in their tip.
There is ZERO reason for a US consumer to be concerned about the supply of iPhone6 phones in China.
I mean get real dude. Get off your high horse.
WTF are your talking about? In what way am I on a high horse?? I don't care what the supply is in China, my friend, but am I supposed to think or feel that I'm entitled to receive/have/use my iPhone 6 -- before any another country -- just because I live in the US?
Why not? Apple is a US company.
Apple is a global company that originated in and is based in the US. I support Apple because they are a US company but as a shareholder I want Apple to sell their devices in as many countries as possible. A sale is a sale, no matter what the country is where the sale takes place.