We’d heard that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were receiving record preorders, but what exactly does this mean in terms of numbers?
According to a new press release from Apple, the total number of pre-orders for the iPhone 6 family of devices is in excess of a whopping 4 million units — twice the number of pre-orders of the iPhone 5.
“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” Tim Cook is quoted as saying. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”
Part of the explanation for this ramp-up in preorders could be Android users who have held off on jumping to iOS up until now, due to the smaller displays on offer. With Apple’s handsets now boasting 4.7- and 5.5-inch displays that barrier to entry is no longer there.
Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin recently speculated that Apple could sell in the 60+ million range for iPhones this holiday quarter. According to sources in the Taiwan-based iPhone supply chain, Apple is currently preparing the parts and components to manufacture up to 80 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices before the end of 2014.
In more ways than one, this is going to be the big one, folks!
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
15 responses to “First day iPhone 6 preorders set a new record for Apple”
It was a record debacle if you tried to preorder. I placed my order at 2:50am Eastern Time only to have AT&T screw up the credit info, so I used the Apple app to reserve another as backup. After 6+ hours screwing with AT&T on Friday, they cancelled my order. After seven iPhone launches you’d think that it would go smoother.
Thank you Capt. Obvious. This was my first preorder and I also ordered on Apple app just in case.
iPhone 4&6 combined image?
I actually had no problem ordering my iPhone 6 (AT&T) at 3:50 am on the 12th. I used the Apple Store app on my iPhone 5, since the Apple web site was still down for ordering.
I have never ordered any iPhone from AT&T. Their sales people and web site ordering, are terrible. I actually have good experiences with their customer service, but never from sales.
It’s so hard to compare the figures each year. Sometimes it’s the first 48 hours, sometimes it’s over the weekend period. They rarely specific the models -just saying “iPhone”, so does that include the older models? Above all though the figures are global, and for many years those initial numbers of territories in the first batch were growing for the simultaneous launch window. Of course, this is normal and the way to be the most upbeat about stuff – and get people knowing they want one.
You don’t need to “preorder” older models.
that is indeed perfectly true !
Why was this article titled “First day iPhone preorders may have exceeded 16 million”? Isn’t that an outright lie?
I too had trouble on the AT&T website. I went to my local AT&T store that morning at around 10:00am and had no trouble at all getting my iPhone 6 ordered. They were great.
Has anyone received a shipping confirmation from Apple.com yet? I ordered a 6 at 4:00 Friday morning- I’ve received an order confirmation with a delivery date of the 19th, but no shipping confirmation yet.
Has anyone received a shipping confirmation from Apple.com?
I’d like to propose a new rule: Anyone who uses “preorder” in an article is fired. On the spot. Any commenter is allowed one strike, then gets banned for a week or two. Serial (ab)users will be banned for life.
The word is “ORDER,” not preorder. There is no such thing as a preorder. Either you order the damn phone or you don’t.
At dinner you enjoy an appetizer, you don’t “pre-eat.” You take a nap after work, not “presleep.” You get engaged, not premarried.
Let the preflaming begin.
Do you heat the oven or pre-heat the oven? Ha ha j/k
The dictionary disagrees with you (and so does NDT):
preorder |priˈôrdər| verb
Order (an item of merchandise) before it is available, with the understanding that it will be shipped later.