Apple Confirms Record-Breaking Four Million First Day Pre-Orders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

[KPOM]

Looking for some advice on ordering....

How long do you guess until Apple offers an unlocked iPhone 6 GSM model on their website (full retail price)?

Is the T-Mobile iPhone 6 on Apple's website simply an unlocked GSM model with the T-Mobile SIM thrown in?

Asking because I want to get an iP6 to use with my Cricket Wireless service.

Thanks.

As long as you buy the T-Mobile version directly from Apple it will be unlocked. It simply has a T-Mobile SIM in it. If you are going to buy it in an actual Apple Store, just tell them you want to buy the phone "device only, contract free," and you can get the AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon versions and they will be unlocked.

 

[lucansmiles]

I think Apple assigns contingents to each country, so the chance is high that a large part of the iPhones for the Sep 26 countries have already been produced and are waiting in some warehouse.

As an example, the launch day iPhones ran out here in Germany while it was still possible to pre-order an iPhone 6 for 9/19 delivery in the US. So the phones are not all coming out of one big "pool" but out of "country pools".

Hey thanks for clearing that up, sounds great and very promising!

 

[gnasher729]

Read what you just wrote. Apple can sell 60-80 million phones but doesn't necessarily mean they'll ship

Well, officially an item is "sold" if the buyer is legally obliged to pay for it, and then you deduct a bit to account for buyers who are legally obliged to pay, but can't be made to buy because the have no money.

In the UK, I have the right to return anything purchased online for 7 days (plus I think Apple gives you some time to return items anyway), so an item can only be counted as "sold" 7 days after I received it. So in practice, an item cannot be counted as "sold" when it's not shipped.

Of course "four million pre-orders" is not "four million sold". None of these phones are sold until they are paid for and the buyer has no right to a refund anymore, typically some time after receiving the item. On the other hand, most of these items will end up being sold in practice.

 

[Mtmspa]

I think the numbers are a little off;
a) By the people who ordered 6 and 6+ who will return one of the phones (the phone that feels less comfortable in their hand).
b) The people who will turn up on launch day (or later) buy a phone and then cancel their pre order (me).

Whey are you talking about rounding error numbers? Just admit 4 mil is amazing.

 

[djepsilon]

Yeah, but Android ships a billion units a month.

This doesn't even make sense even if Android shipped phones. You're you're saying that Android shipped a phone to every person on the planet in the last 7 months?

 

[Trapezoid]

Wow. So many supposed "iphone killers" haven't sold 4 million in their entire lifetimes. (I'm looking at you, amazon ;-)

I think it's funny that phones to the day, are still being referred to as iphone killers! Shows that apple is still the one to beat

 

[Rot'nApple]

Wonder if Samsung will release their 24 hour sales numbers when they release the Samsung Note 4?!?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Yeah, but Android ships a billion units a month.

Made up? That would mean that the average person in the world orders nearly 2 Android devices each year.

 

[antonis]

Samsung: "Damn!!"

Hehe, but in their ad they said we should thank them for the bigger iPhones.

Now, here's an idea: How about every iPhone user sends a "Thank you" email to Samsung ?

According to their ad, they will 'appreciate' it

 

[jayducharme]

But I thought people didn't want big phones?

I don't, actually. But if I want to remain in the Apple ecosystem with the latest tech, I have a limited choice: too big or even bigger.

 

[Vanilla Face]

What worries me now, is overall fulfillment of the orders to those rabid customers waiting for their devices to be delivered, or for those who intend to wait in line for a new device on opening day.

This. I'm going to be ticked if people are picking up the 6+ on release day in store when I preordered mine a week prior and have to wait a month.

 

[MrX8503]

I think the numbers are a little off;
a) By the people who ordered 6 and 6+ who will return one of the phones (the phone that feels less comfortable in their hand).
b) The people who will turn up on launch day (or later) buy a phone and then cancel their pre order (me).

1. Not at all a common use case.
2. That's still 1 device sold

 

[brendu]

Obviously I'm Mr. Nobody but I think Tim Cook has done an amazing job.

The only thing that sticks out is that he promised brand new products in the pipeline and apart from the Apple Watch he hasn't delivered on that as of yet.

Unless you count CarPlay which was announced after he made those comments.

 

[Moonjumper]

Going into administration shouldn't make pre-orders invalid. It means the management has changed from the owners of the company to an administrator. The administrator has to maximise money given to debtors. Delivering phones to customers surely helps.

However, anyone who did order through Phone4U might consider cancelling their order. In the UK, you have considerable rights against the seller of an item - and these great rights are worth nothing if the seller goes bankrupt. So after your 12 month manufacturer's warranty runs out, you won't get any free repairs if the store where you bought is bankrupt.

Phones4U are cancelling all pre-orders. Their stores are closed.

Unlike many administration situations which can end in refinancing / new owners, Phones4U appear to be giving out signals that they no longer have a viable business due to losing yet another network contract. I believe there is was only one network left operating with them.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Made up? That would mean that the average person in the world orders nearly 2 Android devices each year.

My friend who is an Android fan boy has 3 Android devices.

 

[mattopotamus]

Wow, I actually thought this would be the year sales slowed. I think the financing of phones played a large role in people upgrading.

 

[Vanilla Face]

My friend who is an Android fan boy has 3 Android devices.

And I have 4 iOS devices, 3 OSX computers, and 2 iPods.

 

[g0odfr1end102]

 

[AdonisSMU]

People wanted a large phone from Apple is my guess and ApplePay.

 

[a.roden]

Hehe, but in their ad they said we should thank them for the bigger iPhones.

Now, here's an idea: How about every iPhone user sends a "Thank you" email to Samsung ?

According to their ad, they will 'appreciate' it

I'm up for that!

 

[cburton]

Good news but need the complete weekend sales to get the whole story.

 

[DotCom2]

This measure only has meaning if it sold in the same exact number of countries as another launch.
And technically, it should be the same countries.

 

[AdonisSMU]

And I have 4 iOS devices, 3 OSX computers, and 2 iPods.

I didn't mention he also has several chromebooks as well and an android watch.

 

[Vanilla Face]

Wow, I actually thought this would be the year sales slowed. I think the financing of phones played a large role in people upgrading.

For sure. That gets almost all of the credit for people upgrading their phones every 2 years. That's part of why iPad sales are declining, the new models don't give people enough of a reason to upgrade for full retail price.

 

[brendu]

Apple pay is a product and he has delivered.

I wouldn't call it a product I would call it a service.