Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have taken the smartphone world by storm. They shattered all the previous iPhone sales records by selling 10 million units in the opening weekend. Pre-orders in China surpassed 20 million units in just three days. In fact, the new iPhones helped Apple crush the fourth-quarter Wall Street estimates.
China sales skewed towards 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus
Apple doesn’t provide details on the mix between the iPhone 6 and its big brother 6 Plus. However, data from mobile analytics firm Localytics show that the iPhone 6 outsold 6 Plus by 6-to-1 in the first month of launch. It contradicts initial reports that claimed that the iPhone 6 Plus was outselling its smaller sibling. Demand in China, where the phones went on sale last week, is highly skewed towards the 5.5-inch phablet.
After one month of being in the market, the iPhone 6 accounts for 6% of the total iPhones, compared to just 1% for 6 Plus. This is a huge improvement from the iPhone 5S, which commanded 3% share at the end of the first month of launch. Currently, ten models of the iPhone are in the market. Apple has discontinued all of them except the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 5S and 5C.
iPhone 6 Plus boasts of higher user engagement
Overall, the iPhone 5S commands the highest share with 27%. It is followed by the iPhone 5 (25%), and iPhone 4S (18%). Though the iPhone 6 is selling better than its bigger sibling, the 6 Plus has more user engagement. That means it is going the tablet way. The iPhone 6 Plus users spend 13% more time on average compared to the iPhone 6 users. Further, 6 Plus users open apps 11% more frequently than those who own the iPhone 6. It supports the notion that big screens lead to higher engagement.
Localytics’ app analytics software is embedded in 28,000 apps across 1.5 billion smartphones. Such a high level of penetration helped it collect data on new iPhones. During the Q4 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that the demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus could far outstrip supply.
Apple shares jumped 2.24% to $102 at 12:54 PM EDT on Tuesday.
