14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone 6 is officially available for pre-ordering in China starting this weekend. Apple is yet to release official numbers, but the latest estimate is 8.5 million.
Pre-ordering actually started on October 1, but that was because of a gimmick used by carriers in the country to begin sales (by means of reservations) early. Officially, the iPhone 6 became available for pre-order on October 10 (Friday).
Some numbers
Research done by Forbes contributor Chuck Jones using JD.com data shows that, at 3:30 am on Saturday, China had pre-ordered 2.91 million units through official channels. Later that day, at around 7:30 am, 2.93 million had been sold, according to the data. Finally, at 2:00 pm, 4.85 million sales had been recorded.
The trend continued throughout the weekend to reach a staggering 8.5 million pre-orders coupled with the original reservations made by the carriers. That number could well be higher now.
Adding these numbers to the 10 million reported orders in the US and other countries that were lucky to get the phones ahead of the rest of the world, Apple is now sitting on at least 20 million orders.
If the math doesn’t add up, it’s because the estimate needs to include potential sales after Apple’s reported 10 million (which happened a while ago) and after the last count in China. Seeing how demand is equally strong on both continents, the 20 million figure isn’t just possible, but probable.
The numbers spell a victory for Apple, but this also raises concerns about manufacturing yields. As every year goes, Tim Cook and his troops will most certainly have a hard time keeping up with demand.
Apple is having a great year
Despite rumors of the iPhone 6 Plus bending easily in people’s pockets, China is actually buying more of the larger handset than the smaller (4.7-inch) version. The reason isn’t clear, but the country is obviously taken with the 5.5-inch phablet.
Current availability
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are currently available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and now China.
The Cupertino company has said that the phones will be available in 115 countries by the end of the year. It will be interesting to observe the demand at upcoming launches worldwide.
So far, these are the only countries Apple has confirmed to be eligible for the purchase of an iPhone 6. However, in usual fashion, the tech mammoth will soon announce its next rollout in several new territories across multiple continents.