The first weekend of iPhone 6/6 Plus sales have commenced and, as expected, Apple recorded a new sales record for their latest iPhone models. Apple states that it sold 10 million iPhones this weekend. This compares to 9 million iPhone 5S/5C at the time of the last release.
While a jump from 9 million to 10 million sounds rather small (just over 10%), it is quite impressive considering the fact that the new models were not available in China, one of the largest markets for smartphones today. The new iPhones were only available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK. The product will be released in 20 additional countries by the end of September. In total, the new iPhones will be available in 115 countries by the end of the year.
From that perspective, the result is actually pretty impressive. Given that the iPhone sells with different sizes and different storage capacity, the average sales price is somewhat difficult to guess, as Apple did not release the product mix.
When looking at the revenue Apple will see from this first weekend, we have to remember that the sales price to the consumer is heavily subsidized. Historically, Apple makes about $600 per phone sold. If this is also true for the new iPhone models, the 10 million phones brought roughly $6 billion into Apple’s already well-filled cash register. Not bad for a weekend’s work!
I took the chance to visit some of the local electronic stores (NY suburbs) to see if the iPhone 6 is still available. From my unscientific survey, I can assure you that the iPhone 6 sold well – no model was available, anywhere.
With plenty of smartphones available in the store to play with, the only stand that drew a crowd on late Sunday afternoon had the two iPhone models, so it took some time to get even a short time to play with the new model.
My impressions from the first five minutes are simple – the phones are big, especially the iPhone 6 Plus, but the biggest difference is the weight. Both models are much lighter than earlier models and that makes the phones almost feel like other cheap, plastic body designs. Apple may have gone a little overboard with the weight loss program. It seems common that people opening the box inadvertently drop the phone as the box is opened. It is so thin and light that is doesn’t stay in its assigned place.
The screen appears very good to the naked eye, at least compared to my old iPhone 4S, though it doesn’t seem better than the Samsung OLED smartphone. More measurements will certainly come out soon.
Overall, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is a nice new phone that most likely will get most if its appeal from the total infrastructure Apple offers. Some of my family members who already received their pre-ordered iPhones were very positive about the fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone. No more pranks by changing the language to mandarin by guessing the password. Apple is more than just hardware, it is the complete infrastructure that appeals to the consumer. – Norbert Hildebrand
