The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was made available for pre-order sales around the world this weekend, and despite their worryingly massive 4.7- and 5.5-inch diagonal measurements, they have proceeded to sell out almost everywhere. According to an official statement from Apple, more than 4 million iPhones (6 and 6 Plus combined) were pre-ordered in the first 24 hours of availability, beating out any previous records set by the iPhone 5, 5S, 5C, and Galaxy S5. Is this finally proof that Android device makers and users were right all along — that Apple was wrong about small screens, and that large-screen smartphones are the future of mobile computing?
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus went on pre-order on Friday morning in the US, UK, and many other key markets. The iPhone 6 Plus appears to have sold out first, with the Apple website and most major carriers now quoting a wait time of 3-4 weeks. The iPhone 6 has also sold out in most territories, but is showing a shorter wait time of 7-10 days. In a statement on Friday, Apple said “Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible with a record number of preorders overnight.” In some cases, some carrier websites couldn’t deal with the massive load brought on by prospective iPhone buyers, crashing under the onslaught.
Just as this story was being published, Apple announced an official pre-order figure of 4 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus combined. Apple didn’t release figures for the 5S and 5C pre-orders, but the iPhone 5 in 2012 only had 2 million pre-orders. At the moment it definitely sounds like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are on track to becoming the fastest selling smartphones in history. AT&T also says it’s seeing more demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus than the iPhone 5, 5S, or 5C. When the new iPhones go on general sale on September 19, I strongly suspect that we’ll see first-weekend sales in the 10 million range — as long as Apple and its Chinese supply chain can produce enough hardware, anyway.
Large screens über alles
There are two ways to interpret the pre-order success of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. First, it’s possible that some people will simply buy the latest iPhone, irrespective of screen size. “Apple designed it, so it must be good.” The second option is that, lo and behold, Apple was wrong about the number of people who want a large-screen smartphone. In reality, it’s probably a mix of both. The important thing, though, is that both of Apple’s flagship smartphones are now large-screen devices. That is, irrespective of how the market feels about the whole divinely inspired thumb-versus-screen-size thing, Apple itself has decided that larger screens are the future. From now on, every new iPhone will have a 4.7-inch screen or larger.
Now, unless you’re a die-hard Apple fanboy, I don’t think anyone here will be massively surprised by the success of the larger-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. For those of us who have been using Android or Windows Phone for the last few years, we know from first-hand experience that larger screens are simply superior to the puny screens of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. In an ideal world, Apple probably would’ve released a large-screen iPhone last year, when large-screen Android phones were capturing the lion’s share of the market — but the longer-screen iPhone 5 in 2012 meant that it was unlikely to jump straight to a large-screen iPhone 6 in 2013.
In any case, Apple has finally caught up with the rest of the smartphone market. From here on out, it’s large-screen smartphones all the way. We’ll still see the occasional “mini” device for people with small hands, and cheaper devices that hang around the 4.5-inch mark rather than 5 inches, but it’s clear that the “thumbable” screen dies with the iPhone 5S and 5C.
Read: iPhone 6 vs. iPhone 6 Plus vs. HTC One M8: Which one should you buy?
There was one other facet about the iPhone 6/6 Plus pre-order story that I found interesting: The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus sold out faster, and has a longer restocking time, than the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. Yes, this could simply be a matter of Apple not producing enough iPhone 6 Plus stock — but even that implies that demand for the iPhone 6 Plus was higher than Apple expected. Let’s not forget that even for Android phones, a 5.5-inch screen is right on the edge of being called a phablet. While the 4.7-inch space is highly contested, the only real competition at 5.5 inches is Samsung’s Galaxy Note (which has also sold very well, incidentally).
The iPhone 6 Plus pushes at the boundary of how we currently define smartphones. If the iPhone 6 Plus becomes the biggest-selling smartphone of all time, what does that mean for smaller tablets, such as the iPad Mini or Kindle Fire? If the iPhone 6 Plus is a huge success, will it drag other smartphone makers with it? In a couple of years, will 5.5 inches be the norm for smartphones?
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus went on pre-order on Friday morning in the US, UK, and many other key markets. The iPhone 6 Plus appears to have sold out first, with the Apple website and most major carriers now quoting a wait time of 3-4 weeks. The iPhone 6 has also sold out in most territories, but is showing a shorter wait time of 7-10 days. In a statement on Friday, Apple said “Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible with a record number of preorders overnight.” In some cases, some carrier websites couldn’t deal with the massive load brought on by prospective iPhone buyers, crashing under the onslaught.
Just as this story was being published, Apple announced an official pre-order figure of 4 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus combined. Apple didn’t release figures for the 5S and 5C pre-orders, but the iPhone 5 in 2012 only had 2 million pre-orders. At the moment it definitely sounds like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are on track to becoming the fastest selling smartphones in history. AT&T also says it’s seeing more demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus than the iPhone 5, 5S, or 5C. When the new iPhones go on general sale on September 19, I strongly suspect that we’ll see first-weekend sales in the 10 million range — as long as Apple and its Chinese supply chain can produce enough hardware, anyway.
Large screens über alles
There are two ways to interpret the pre-order success of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. First, it’s possible that some people will simply buy the latest iPhone, irrespective of screen size. “Apple designed it, so it must be good.” The second option is that, lo and behold, Apple was wrong about the number of people who want a large-screen smartphone. In reality, it’s probably a mix of both. The important thing, though, is that both of Apple’s flagship smartphones are now large-screen devices. That is, irrespective of how the market feels about the whole divinely inspired thumb-versus-screen-size thing, Apple itself has decided that larger screens are the future. From now on, every new iPhone will have a 4.7-inch screen or larger.
Now, unless you’re a die-hard Apple fanboy, I don’t think anyone here will be massively surprised by the success of the larger-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. For those of us who have been using Android or Windows Phone for the last few years, we know from first-hand experience that larger screens are simply superior to the puny screens of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5. In an ideal world, Apple probably would’ve released a large-screen iPhone last year, when large-screen Android phones were capturing the lion’s share of the market — but the longer-screen iPhone 5 in 2012 meant that it was unlikely to jump straight to a large-screen iPhone 6 in 2013.
In any case, Apple has finally caught up with the rest of the smartphone market. From here on out, it’s large-screen smartphones all the way. We’ll still see the occasional “mini” device for people with small hands, and cheaper devices that hang around the 4.5-inch mark rather than 5 inches, but it’s clear that the “thumbable” screen dies with the iPhone 5S and 5C.
Read: iPhone 6 vs. iPhone 6 Plus vs. HTC One M8: Which one should you buy?
There was one other facet about the iPhone 6/6 Plus pre-order story that I found interesting: The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus sold out faster, and has a longer restocking time, than the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. Yes, this could simply be a matter of Apple not producing enough iPhone 6 Plus stock — but even that implies that demand for the iPhone 6 Plus was higher than Apple expected. Let’s not forget that even for Android phones, a 5.5-inch screen is right on the edge of being called a phablet. While the 4.7-inch space is highly contested, the only real competition at 5.5 inches is Samsung’s Galaxy Note (which has also sold very well, incidentally).
The iPhone 6 Plus pushes at the boundary of how we currently define smartphones. If the iPhone 6 Plus becomes the biggest-selling smartphone of all time, what does that mean for smaller tablets, such as the iPad Mini or Kindle Fire? If the iPhone 6 Plus is a huge success, will it drag other smartphone makers with it? In a couple of years, will 5.5 inches be the norm for smartphones?
