Skip to main content

Analytics data shows Apple is delivering far more iPhone 6 units than 6 Plus

Screen Shot 2014-09-19 at 8.35.59 PM

New data released by mobile analytics firm MixPanel (via TechCrunch) has revealed a trend in adoption rates of the 4.7-inch iPhone versus the 5.5-inch model. According to the report, the smaller model appears to be outperforming the larger one is deliveries today, and by no small margin. While the larger model has claimed about .30% of hits in MixPanel’s survey, the smaller version has achieved an impressive 2.46%.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the 4.7-inch version is outselling its counterpart by such a large gap, if at all. It’s entirely possible (though unlikely) that more of the larger version have been sold or ordered overall, but weren’t available for delivery or in retail stores today. Of course, this makes a lot of sense given the ongoing reports of extremely limited iPhone 6 Plus supplies both in retail stores and online, even during the pre-order phase.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the data changes over the next few weeks as more and more customers get their hands on the “Plus” units.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. fredhstein - 10 years ago

    Or, a lot of the plus sized ones are going overseas where they fetch big bucks.

  2. Laughing_Boy48 - 10 years ago

    There was already some announcement that Foxconn was producing 400,000 iPhone 6 units and 140,000 iPhone 6 Plus units a day so, it would be likely that far more iPhone 6 units are being sold as far more are available.

    • I’m curious to see how the 6+ does, I only know one person that ordered one as their daily driver (several devs have ordered both but plan to use the 6 daily).

      My guess is 70/30 but at this point unless Apple puts out numbers it’s anyone’s guess.

    • Jonny Mack - 9 years ago

      At the AT&T store where I waited in line, one of the largest AT&T stores in New Jersey mind you, everyone I stood with was waiting to purchase an iPhone 6 Plus. They had four. All of them virtually useless 16GB models. Half the line lingered to touch the one on display and then go home. So yeah. The Plus models are in ludicrously short supply. And yes, I read that about a third as many Pluses were being produced as regular 6s. Either Apple wants to create demand, or they have no faith that people actually want larger screens.

      • I would also venture a guess that Apple’s margins aren’t as high with the 6+ as they are with the 6. Maybe they hope that people will give up waiting for the 6+ and just opt for the 6. Trust me…I was really close to just giving up the wait and getting a 6.

      • Q Ajimine (@QAjimine) - 9 years ago

        I had the exact same experience at a smaller AT&T store near me in Aurora, Colorado. I got to the store at 5 AM (for an 8 AM opening) only to find out that they were only given five 6+’s. The first five people in line bought the 6+’s.The saleswoman had stated that all the AT&T stores in our region had already sold out of the 6+’s in a matter of minutes of the store opening. During the wait, I had spoken to several people in line and approximately 40% of them were there for the 6+. About 10% (of the whole) were indifferent, they just wanted whatever they could get, which makes it an even split. To be fair, there were only about 30 people that showed up at this store. However, seven people immediately left when it was announced that all the 6+’s were sold out. That’s 23% of the whole and those ahead of me (including myself) that wanted the 6+ ended up ordering it. I didn’t stay to see who settled, but no one that I spoke to was planning on it.

  3. Silence Dogood - 10 years ago

    Or there were not enough 6+ to meet demand. I didn’t reserve one but walked away from my Apple store empty handed when there was no 6+ available for my carrier. Wonder how many are in the same boat? Also, wonder how many would have purchased plus but settled on the 6 due to availability as their only option determining purchase like the three behind me in line were debating 6 or 6+ and when they learned they wouldn’t have option to purchase 6+ right then and there, the decision was made for them because they wanted to walk out with new iPhone release?

    • Ordered my AT&T space gray 64GB iPhone 6+ from Apple about 3 hours after pre-orders went live. My current order status says that I’ll recieve it sometime the week of October 13th. Maybe Foxconn should start making more of the 6+ and less of the 6.

  4. yuniverse7 - 10 years ago

    We ordered two iPhone 6, and six iPhone 6+. We were able to get the two 6’s, but we’re waiting on all of the +’s, which is about month out if we’re lucky. So just looking at our order as a small sample, there were more demand for the larger model, but the smaller outsold(?) the larger because of availability.

  5. Mac Daddy - 10 years ago

    Yep, I ordered my 6+ the first night – my receipt is time-stamped 4 minutes *before* official release time – and it’s still not shipping for two more weeks.

    It’ll be interesting to see how this trend evolves as demand for both versions is met.

    • KamilG (@ChiCityKG) - 10 years ago

      Really?! I think the most interesting aspect of these 6 Plus sales are the carriers and how many were allotted for each carrier. Which carrier did you order for? I’m just curious. It might get pushed up a few weeks.

      I ordered my 6 Plus for T-Mobile (US) on the 12th, but it was about 2.5 hours AFTER preorders went on sale. The Apple Store never worked and T-Mobile also wasn’t working so it took a while for my order to get through. Originally had the date of October 1-7th for delivery but today it got moved up to Monday (September 22nd). You might get lucky also!

    • borntofeel - 10 years ago

      You’ll all like idiots making calls with that gigantic thing.

      • stuffibuy - 10 years ago

        I think you accidentally a whole word.

      • smigit - 10 years ago

        I’m not sure looking stupid is a concern to most people buying it. As it is, the phone functionality of my iPhone is relatively low on the list of reasons I carry a handset. If looks was a concern I could always use a bluetooth headset.

      • oreomuncher - 10 years ago

        You still make phone calls? whoa.

      • Silence Dogood - 9 years ago

        I have a fat head so it’s all proportional!

  6. Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

    I know for a fact the Plus was in much lower supply at the three Apple stores I visited today, as every Apple rep I asked claimed they only received a handful of Plus units, thus explaining the much lower statistics. Also, hanging around the stores and hearing people chatter about the new phones, almost everyone was saying the Plus was “way too big” and “I don’t want a Note” was heard many, many times, and were all opting for the 6 instead.

    There is a reason Apple’s bread-and-butter is the 4-5″ class device, and why it will continue to be such. The “phablet” is more of a fab for a niche market.

  7. sardonick - 10 years ago

    That’s because they didn’t give carriers enough stock of 6+. I saw 5 of the 20 people I was in line with today, including myself, walk away without buying a phone because Verizon had 3 units in stock of the plus. 3 others decided to buy the 6 because they wanted a phone right then.

    • verizon2828 - 10 years ago

      I preordered my 6 Plus from Verizon around 3:30am EST and it arrived today. Two things…the big screen is AWESOME! I’ve used it about 12 hours now and love the bigger fonts, better web browsing, bigger photos. It’s great. The other thing is the battery life. It’s insane. It was 100% charged after I finished loading my backup around Noon and I’m at 84% right now…a full 12 hours later. 84%!!!! If you’re still waiting on the 6 Plus, don’t break down and get the 6 just because it’s available. The 6 Plus is worth the wait!!

  8. Gregory Wright - 10 years ago

    I had my mind set on buying the iPhone Plus. But, after visiting my local Sprint store, viewing both phones size by side, I think I like iPhone 6 better. Gotta think about it a little more.

    • verizon2828 - 10 years ago

      My wife got the 6 and I got the 6 Plus so I’ve spent time with both today. The 6 is nice. I came from a 5S and the 6 is definitely bigger in a good way. The kickers on the 6 Plus and led me to go bigger is the battery life and he extra screen size. Everything is easier to see on it. And once the developers get working, apps will be taking advantage of the bigger screen. I’m looking forward to that. Above all though…I gotta say its battery life. It’s a beast so far.

  9. Harold Irizarry - 10 years ago

    My experience today was pretty good. I was in the line and i guess i made number 120 or a little less. However, the first thing the guy at apple said was that they had plenty of iPhone 6 but a few for iPhone plus. That said, they sold out the plus right after they got my order (which is a plus att 64 gb). I heard the guy telling a guy he got the last plus. So my conclusion is they only had around 150 iPhone plus

  10. Voom! (@VoomBlog) - 10 years ago

    Found this Siri Easter Egg in iOS.

    Siri meets Jarvis!

    http://actuallytechnically.tumblr.com/

  11. Povilas Griškevičius - 10 years ago

    Well you can spin it however you want, but the truth is people are not very into huge Apple phones. It’s not a supply issue, it’s not a production issue. It’s Apple managing their expectations. The problem with android phones is that they had to start differentiate very early and specs is one of those points, so basically they forced those big displays, those phablets on people and made them “popular” in the process.

  12. Yesterday’s 6+ sold out. New stock arrived and I was able to order one. Picking one up when it opens. =)

  13. Charles Stanley - 10 years ago

    If you need to buy the 6 plus and 6 unlocked version that works with any carrier check this http://bit.ly/1qPTFV2

  14. Charles Stanley - 10 years ago

    If you need to buy the 6 plus and 6 unlocked version that works with any carrier check betastall . com

  15. Julia Dupuy - 10 years ago

    I ordered the 6 plus literally one minutes after apple.com finally went live on 9/12 (they went live over two hours late)…

    despite that, my 6 plus won’t arrive until Monday. The plus is in very short supply.

    I don’t expect it to be the most popular choice, but right now the difference is supply constrained.

    I walked into my local tmobile on Friday morning, that had iPhone 6 in stock, I could have walked out with one, no waiting. But no 6 plus at all.

  16. Ultramet (@ultramet) - 10 years ago

    Strange… I failed to get one during the pre-order…this AM I just logged in to the Apple Store and was able to buy a 6+ 128 GB with in-store pickup (14th street in NYC) without a problem. Less than 2 hours later the order I picked up the order. So these phones must be more available than most people are suggesting.

  17. kushpatel21 - 10 years ago

    How are they getting this data? The iOS 8 adoption is also really interesting

  18. Andrew Bricknell - 10 years ago

    of course they are delivering more of the IPhone 6 compared with plus version, no-one can get the plus version as they’re not making enough of them.

  19. dksmidtx - 9 years ago

    Ever here the saying “There are likes, d@#$ lies, then there are statistics?” We don’t have an Apple store within 300 miles, but every Best Buy, AT&T and Verizon I went to described the exact same thing – hundreds of people come in asking for the Plus, get told they only received 5 (or in case of Best Buy, none) and they either “settled” for a 6 or left empty handed. If the “stats” are outrageously in favor of the 6, its only because there are no 6 Plus’ to be had.

  20. Michael McCarthy - 9 years ago

    I ordered the 128 gb 6 plus I got online at 03:00 am est on Verizon wireless on the first day of pre-order. I completed the order by 03:07 and was told that it would ship on release day the 19th. My confirmation email stated I was on back order until the 10th of October. I think that there is a lack of the 128gb 6 plus units available. That may account for the lack of adoption rating data. I never had this issue on Verizon wireless pre-order before. I am disapointed that they would not get the pre-orders correctly

    This is my Facebook messaging with Verizon Wireless::::

    Me:

    Wish I could get My IPhone 6 plus. I got online at 03:00 am EST on the day of the preorder. Completed my order at 03:07 am EST. On the page at the completion of the order it told me I would get it on the 19th of September. The confirmation Email then told me I would get it the 7th of October. I checked the order status and now it says 10th of October. I could have gotten it at the local Verizon Store. They had it and my friend only waited 20 minutes in line. I have ordered every IPhone the same way and had it the first day available. Why am I being given this poor service?
    Michael McCarthy
    LikeLike · · Share
    Michael McCarthy

    Verizon Wireless
    Michael,

    I appreciate your interest in the iPhone 6 plus! I do apologize for the delay in shipment. As you may imagine the demand for the device has been overwhelming. Shipping estimates will be updated as estimates may fluctuate with the available supply that we are supplied with by Apple. Local stores are provided with a limited amount of available devices. Keep posted to your e-mail as dates and availability may be updated at any time. – Yosef