An overwhelmed Apple quickly ran out of a rather paltry iPhone Plus supply (all storage sizes and finishes) at Apple Retail Stores around the world today.
Huge lines at Apple Stores, containing what witnesses described as “entire bus loads of Chinese citizens” regardless of where the retail store was located, were nearly immediately disappointed as Apple Store staffers informed the throngs, “We are all out of iPhone Pluses!” Under their breath, more than one staffer muttered, basically, “and don’t hold your breath for the next shipment.”
Apple also attempted to implement a new system of digital numbers via Passbook for those in the queues, but with an average of 2-3 minutes per person or longer, and, in the U.S. at least, encountering significant language issues (English to Chinese or, more accurately, the lack thereof), Apple’s digital numbers struggled to make their way through the lines. At multiple Apple retail Stores, most people in line, even those who arrived hours before store opening, never got a number before finding out that the vastly insufficient supply of iPhone Pluses had evaporated.
Scuttlebut we’ve heard says that Apple’s iPhone Plus display yields are “in the toilet” with “four or more out of every ten screens having to be thrown out.” Trusted sources told MacDailyNews that severe supply constraints for iPhone Plus will continue for “weeks, maybe months.” This “isn’t a case of [Apple] misjudging demand,” rather “it’s a case of 5.5-inch display yield.”
The supply of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 seemed stronger, with Apple Retail Stores fulfilling large demand throughout the morning.
Suffice to say, if you’re looking for an iPhone 6 Plus, you’re going to be looking for awhile.
When you’re hot- you’re hot!!!
And when you’re snot you’re snot… Huh Samascum?
Ugh!
I’m frustrated that they never make the fully unlocked (aka SIM free) models available on launch day.
The TMobile phone is unlocked, you just get a tmobile sim for free. You can put any sim you wish inside the tom bile iPhone. I use it happily with active AT&T and StraightTalk Sims without any issue.
I was unaware of this. I always thought the T-Mobile models were locked to T-Mobile SIMs.
This must be a recent change. Three months ago, my T-Mobile iPhone 5 came locked, and I had to ask T-Mobile to unlock it (which they did).
I even asked an Apple customer service rep when they started taking pre-orders.
That’s good then, because that looks like Apple copying Samsung copying Apple. If I wanted a dish-sized phone, I’d get a ScamScam Gaglaxitive phone. But since I have taste, I’m sticking with the regular iPhone!
I agree with you, Christopher, although if any company can pull off a moderately tasteful 5.5 inch phone, it’s Apple. Clearly a lot of people want that size and know that Apple’s is the best and best looking (extra) large phone on the market by a significant margin.
Again, “If we could have made more we would have sold more.” I believe we will here that again at the next quarterly / end of year report.
Note to Steve Ballmer:
It is crazy because the Apple iPhone still doesn’t have buttons and you know people want lots of buttons on their tiny screen smart phones.
If Bald Ballmer hates touch screens, and only liked physical buttons, then why did he create Windoze 8? Or is my autism making me miss the sarcasm?
Well just got back from being disappointed twice by Apple in one week. You don’t get a third Apple! You’d think after 7 years of doing this, you would have learned how to do it right. Apparently no Apple Geniuses at product launch, not to mention pre-order!
Flame me if you want, but I’ll never waste my time doing this again only to be disappointed by Apple’s incompetence to meet demand.
I agree. Apple made the mistake of making a fat phone. If you bought one, you are on your own when someone comes up to you and says “nice Galaxy! I have one too!” If someone did that to me, then I would be razed by police officers, and possibly taken to the nearest crazy house because the police STILL doesn’t understand mental illness. 🙁
Guessing how many devices to make for a launch is extremely difficult. There is absolutely no way anyone can reliably assess exactly how great the demand is for a specific product before anyone has even had a chance to see it. Making too many is a logistical disaster (nobody has space to store millions of extra iPhones), so it is critically important to guess as accurately as possible. Keep in mind, this means figuring out exactly how many they will need of each model / colour (gold / black / white, 16GB / 32GB / 64GB, 6 / 6+) all of this for each of their retail locations throughout the world. And all indications were that the 6 plus wasn’t going to be massively popular (after all, the old logic was quite consistent before: who would want a brick that won’t fit in your pants / shirt pocket?).
Apples just-in-time manufacturing process has made them the envy of the industry (as well as other industries), with legendary record low inventory. Unfortunately, at launch time, this may make a few impatient people frustrated. That frustration will quickly melt away, though, once they get their hands on their new devices in a few weeks or months.
It is great for any company to have this kind of a problem (too big a demand for their product).
Apple has more often than not guessed correctly. In most previous launches, they had
Gold stars to the número uno, in excruciating detail, Apple Apologist. Ooorah!
Truth is, Apple mishandled this launch on a massive scale the likes we have never seen before.
Gushing cheerleaders like one-note @Breeze and apologists like @Predrag cannot alter the facts –Apple dropped the ball big time, like no other in history. So let’s just be honest about it without the blinders.
Remember iMacs for Christmas? Sorry to say dwarfed by the latest misstep that now captures the number one slot. Hopefully, Tim will figure this out one day soon.
All that said, in moments headed to an Apple store to test drive both models. At least hold them in my hand, cardboard is not a true indicator. This release will no doubt break sales records.
But if you don’t have enough product to sell, you don’t have the full and complete picture of launch sales numbers … pity, pity.
???
I’m not sure how anyone can claim Apple botched launch before the actual launch ever took place. Other than some anecdotal evidence claiming some shortage of some models in some stores in some part of the world, nobody can actually confirm that this was a mishandled launch on a massive scale (or any scale, or even mishandled at all).
Before I form an opinion on the quality and scale of this launch, I will actually WAIT for the actual launch (to take place later today) and the actual numbers that come (over the weekend and early next week) before pronouncing this launch a massive failure.
And I definitely won’t be among those rushing to get the device this weekend.
Every year the demand for iPhones at launch goes up. Apple can only make so many before the release date.
No other company in the world makes this many units of level of complexity. It is mass production at its finest but even that has its limits.
There will be more phones arriving today, tomorrow and so on. The ramp will be in full swing by now so availability will improve. Predrag’s point about the different models is also important. Very hard to guess what the mix of the 2 screen sizes will be let along the memory and color choices.
Hey, “Wasted,” how about you preorder next time and stfu? K? Thx
Stopped at the Apple Store yesterday to find out what their game plan was. I was told the store would open a 8. When I asked when the mall would open, the response was 10. The Apple rep could not tell me if the mall was going to open early for the iPhone release. Soooo
I woke up at 4 a.m. and debated driving 30 min to the Apple Store to stand in line and maybe get a plus. After getting up at 3 a.m. last Friday to try to preorder with no success, I decided just to fall back asleep. I also didn’t want to be disappointed twice by Apple.
What a load of BS. “Scuttlebutt” and trusted sources, yeah, sure… No specific stores mentioned at all, I’m sure there are Chinese scalpers in lines in larger cities, but not everywhere as this article implies. I call FUD and know everyone will gasp at the actual number of sales, despite attempts like this to keep people at home and not in line at the Apple store. They will sell out of every model and color, just as always, but not because display yields are in the toilet. Apple makes iPhones that people the world over lust after. It’s an Apple fone feeding frenzy. Apple did not drop the ball, they dropped a bomb, a thermonuclear one on Samedung, and all their paid trolls. Just listen to them yell.
I saw fewer Chinese people in Beijing than I saw at my local U.S. Apple Store today. With no launch date in China yet, iPhone 6 Pluses are going for $3600 in HK and mainland China, so I can understand why.
HA I predicted it – the Chinese are sending them over seas…
My two iPhone 6+ have shipped from China. They were originally supposed to ship in 7 to 10 days.
Seems like not much of a 6+ supply constraint, as is being “reported” if the second wave of orders is shipping less than 24 hours after the iPhone 6 release.
I was next in line for a 6 plus when I was told they just ran out. At the Doors! I was there at 3:30a and waited in line for almost 11 hrs before I got the news. The digital number system wasn’t working at all and they told us they would be handing out the paper cards so that we would know for certain if we would get one, but apparently they gave up on that idea because the cards never materialized and we just had to wait with no idea when they might run out. To their credit, they did come by occasionally to give inventory updates, but they said they had healthy supplies of the one I wanted up until I was next to buy.