How many iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus units has Apple sold?
We know that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are expected to start being delivered on Sept. 25. If you’ve preordered yours, you probably received notification of when your delivery date should be, and may have already seen the charges on your credit card statement. Apple recently issued a press release announcing that the devices will be in stores at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, Sept. 25, but something crucial is missing from this year’s announcement: preorder sales numbers.
In 2014, Apple announced that preorder sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus had topped 10 million, setting a new record. When the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models were released in 2013, Apple revealed first weekend sales of more than nine million. Going back one more year to 2012, Cupertino announced first weekend sales of the iPhone 5 topping five million.
So, why is Cupertino playing the silent game about the initial sales of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus? Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, would only say that “customer response to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been incredibly positive,” but what does that mean?
Is it possible that the preorder sales aren’t going to be as strong as expected, despite Cupertino’s statement to CNBC that they are “on pace to beat last year’s 10 million unit first-weekend record?” It’s very unusual, given Apple’s pattern over the past few years of announcing the sales numbers.
I suspect, however, that this may simply be a new page in Apple’s playbook. Cupertino has yet to reveal how many smartwatch units have sold or how many subscribers have signed on for Apple Music. I think that Apple might just be keeping mum on total unit sales for the time being, and saving that information for the next earnings call. I hope I’m wrong and the information is still forthcoming, because I really want to know how many iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices have been sold.
