Apple’s supply of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus appears to have stabilized. The Cupertino-based tech giant launched the phones in September. By the time October rolled around, the company’s CEO, Tim Cook, explained the difficulty of meeting demand for the iPhone 6.
Fortunately, months later, that balance has finally been achieved. The official Apple online store in the United States shows all capacities, colors, and carriers for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are in stock. The more recently released SIM-free iPhone 6 is available to ship in one business day. It was no surprise that both new iPhones sold out quickly after the launch. Apple is one of the leading smartphone makers in the world.
The first iPhone debuted over seven years ago, since then, it has transformed the entire mobile phone market. Every year, Apple introduces a new iPhone, and the phones tend to sell out quite fast after launch. In December, analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray explained that supply was tight even when Apple improved the supply. The analyst’s report showed that Apple retail stores indicated 56% of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models were available on Dec. 12. That number was a huge jump from the available supply in mid-November, which was close to nothing. In 2013, Munster reported that the supply of the iPhone 5C matched demand by early December. Munster added, “We now expect it to be closer to 80 percent by the end of the quarter.”
To find the supply vs. demand for the iPhone 6, Munster and his team tracked availability for 12 iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models from AT&T and Verizon. The phones were tracked in eight countries outside the United States, and it was discovered that supply increased but was still below the expected amount. A peak at Apple’s online stores in nine countries showed an improvement in shipping times to between three and five business days, however, it should have been the same business day.
