Steady iPhone 6 Supply Secured as Apple Readies 50M Units for December 2014 Delivery – Report
Apple's iPhone 6 release this 2014 will not be hampered by supply crunch as the company had reportedly secured sufficient stocks, likely flooding the market with 50 million freshly-minted units before the end of December.
Citing its supply chain sources in Asia, DigiTimes of Taiwan is claiming that the iPhone maker has finalised its Q4 2014 iPhone 6 orders from both Foxconn and Pegatron, indicating that the company is indeed making the best efforts to stabilize the iPhone 6 supply at the soonest possible time.
Prior to the report, Apple CEO Tim Cook has admitted that supply of the iPhone 6 for the next few months may not reach the ideal level due to heavy demands worldwide. Initial sales figures for the latest model showed that the device has attracted more than 10 million buys in the United States alone.
The numbers doubled as Apple started taking pre-orders in China.
Before the iPhone 6 release date this year, analysts have forecasted that at least 60 million units will get be grabbed before the close of 2014. The sales prediction was going as high as 80 million though it remains doubtful if Apple would be able to produce that much.
Cook himself has conceded that a balance on supply and demand may not be realized until early 2015 but he issued assurance that ramped up production mode of the iPhone 6 is already in effect.
It appears now that manufacturing activities of the device is in full swing as DigiTimes said that the company equally split its iPhone 6 orders in the last quarter of 2014 between Foxconn and Pegatron.
Starting in December, the publication said, Apple will expect delivery of its current flagship from Pegatron - all 25 million units. The same numbers are also expected to ship out from Foxconn, reaching Apple's warehouses in the same period, DigiTimes said.
The report noted too that the estimates excludes the bigger iPhone 6 Plus, which is proving to be more popular in specific markets like China and a number of Asian destinations.
In addition to the iPhone 6 contract awarded by Apple, Pegatron also won the right to assemble some of the iPad Mini 3 units that will hit the market in the months and quarters ahead.
Sales performance, however, of the third-gen 7.9-inch iPad Mini is likely to be cannibalized by the $100-cheaper iPad Mini 2 and possibly by the emergence of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus as a more portable small tablet alternative, analysts said.