How long until we see 6 Plus available in stores?

[indychris]

Looks like the supply ratio is indeed shifting towards more Pluses. However, its effect on retail channels will not be felt for a while.

Source: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20141007PD203.html

One of the key statements from the article is this:

But most component suppliers' current inventories are not sufficient for extra iPhone 6 Plus orders

Ultimately, it doesn't matter what Apple does to shift production. If the suppliers of components for the 6+ can't meet demand, then changing production capacity really has no impact because the limitations of the suppliers will still be a bottleneck.

It does raise a question in my mind about what Apple does in their research to gauge the retail sales environment and customer demand. How can they be so wrong on two phones in a row? First, I think they mildly underestimated the demand of the 5s over the 5c, and they clearly were wrong on the demand of the gold 5s. Now it seems that they were grossly in error on the demand of the larger phone.

It does beg the question in my mind if Apple is simply saying internally, "This is what the consumer should want!" or if they are actually doing some research to determine what the public is looking for in technology.

Unquestionably, SJ had an amazing knack for creating desire in people for new technology or technology packaged in a new way. Ideas that people poo-poo'd at release became wildly successful. But the 6+ is simply Apple's reactive offering of a feature (size) that was already widely found in the marketplace. I would think they would have had a better grasp on what demand would be.

 

[lockerc18]

So they don't charge until order is fulfilled? Just don't want to end up with a problem in my two year agreement.

Not fulfilled, but shipped. You'll get 2 emails, one right after the other - your card is charged, and the phone is shipped.

You can cancel the order any time up until it's shipped, and the cancellation process will restore your upgrade eligibility. But once it's shipped, you can't cancel the order. You can return the phone once you get it, though, and that will restore your upgrade, too.

If you do cancel the order before it's shipped, I know at least VZW is good about restoring your upgrade status very quickly. I've seen AT&T be good about that, too.

So, I went through hoops with orders and finally had one which was due to arrive in the first week in November. But I saw a phone in the configuration I wanted in the online inventory for an Apple store, and decided to get that instead of waiting for my order to get shipped. I cancelled my existing order and VZW restored my upgrade status in a few minutes. My card was never charged. Then I ordered the one I saw online, and the order went through, and my card was charged, because I asked for in-store pickup since the phone was in the store. I picked it up later in the day.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

I've wondered about that as a potential reason for not being in stores. But, I think about International release and that's more than likely the problem.

Maybe, it was too late to put a halt on the international release. Or due to the scheduling of it, Apple had to proceed. With all this negative publicity, Apple would have to work on a resolution as they did with scratch/nick-gate.

 

[Eileen89]

I think it is going to be at least 6 more weeks or so. While I was at Apple today the Rep. Said they are having trouble keeping the iPhone 6 in stock as well.

 

[macblitz]

November but then there is Christmas.

So I place my bet for January

 

[JonMPLS]

Based on the 5s experience, I would guess November.