Last month, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook said that the demand for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was “far outstripping supply.” Though its suppliers are assembling iPhones at their peak to meet the sky-high demand, but the tech giant didn’t expect to reach a demand-supply balance until early 2015. About two months after Apple launched the iPhone 6, BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman says in a research note that supplies of the new iPhones have improved significantly.
Wait time at Apple partner stores has also fallen
The research firm’s checks suggest that, despite improved supplies, it is still taking longer to get the new iPhones at Verizon, AT&T and other Apple partners. Bachman said the iPhone 6 Plus was very hard to find just a few weeks ago. The 16GB variant of the iPhone 6 Plus is more common that the 64GB and 128GB models. That’s mainly due to strong demand for the 64GB and 128GB models.
Now about 50% of the iPhone 6 models across different carriers are available for walk-in at Apple stores. BMO said that the iPhone 6 delivery takes 7-10 days when purchased through Apple’s website. When demand is in balance with supply, the ship time is usually 24 hours. Online wait time at partner stores has come down from 20 days to 10 days.
iPhone 6 outselling its bigger sibling
Bachman says that the demand for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is much higher than the 6 Plus. Some stores told him that the demand was 50-50 between the two models. But the research firm says the iPhone 6 accounts for 75% of total new iPhone sales, with its bigger sibling making up the remaining 25%. That’s in-line with recent reports that the iPhone 6 is outselling the 5.5-inch phablet by 3-to-1.
BMO believes it’s possible that the Cupertino company ends the December quarter with a huge backlog of unfulfilled demand. In a separate research note, RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani raised his price target on Apple from $115 to $120. Daryanani forecasts 20 million Apple Watch shipments in the first 12 months of launch.
Apple shares fell 0.19% to $113.77 in pre-market trading Tuesday.
