Separate iPhone 6 Release Dates for 4.7-Inch, 5.5-Inch Models Confirmed as Apple’s Unique Sales Strategy – Report

The rumoured iPhone 6 release date on September 2014 is likely to deliver only the 4.7-inch build as the phablet-size 5.5-inch model will not get unpacked until a few a months after, the latest buzz from Asia suggests.

As planned, the smaller of the iPhone 6 will hit the market in late September, according to DigiTimes, but not its supersized sibling, which will be slightly delayed by a few months.

However, the pushback for the 5.5-inch edition rollout has nothing to do with production issues, said the same report. Rather, Apple has apparently plotted a separate release schedule for its twin 2014 flagships. The strategic goal is for the devices to complement each other and not to compete for sales numbers.

"Apple's new 5.5-inch iPhone will come several months later than the new 4.7-inch model in order to avoid competition between the two models," DigiTimes said on its report, again pointing to anonymous supply chain insiders.

It appears too that Apple would want to ensure that the mistake of the iPhone 5S/5C launch in late 2013 will not be repeated this year. When the two iPhones were issued, the 5S easily flew off the shelves while the 5C slowly moved.

The iPhone maker would want a good pacing between the two iPhone 6 versions this time around but the DigiTimes report was unclear on when the jumbo variant is coming out.

Per the recent research note from Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities, the 5.5-inch new iPhone is likely set for a commercial debut on December 2014 but the time table, the analyst noted, is tight in terms of sufficient shipment figures.

So to make sure that enough units will be on hand come D-Day, Kuo offered an estimated time of arrival on January 2015, which should be the latest 5.5-inch iPhone 6 touchdown.

In related developments, Apple's digital payment service dubbed as iWallet is gaining further traction to become part of the next iPhone launch this year, according to The Information. Negotiations are now underway, said the same report, between the tech titan and its prospective partners in what is envisioned as the solid rival in the making of Google Wallet.

Also, A8 processing chip from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) seems a bit more secured as the power behind the 2014 iDevices line up from Apple, headlined of course by the iPhone 6, the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3.

In a separate report by DigiTimes, TSMC is tipped to supply the CPU requirements of Apple for its upcoming mobile gadgets this 2014 and onwards to 2015. In forging the A8 and A9 application processors, the iPhone maker is slated to become the biggest revenue generator of TSMC, the report said.

And the countdown for the iPhone 6 release date will likely begin in mid-September 2014, ending in the 26th of the month or a few days following the public issuance of iOS 8 GM build.