Apple released the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus just last month and since then, the demand for the larger model has more than surpassed the smaller version.
In a discussion about the company’s Q4 earnings, the CEO, Tim Cook, was quick to admit that the demand for the iPhone 7 Plus is higher than thought. In fact, the Cupertino company is not sure whether it will be at equilibrium as far as demand vs supply is concerned by the close of 2016.
According to Cook, the demand for both iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is unprecedented, however, it is the latter that seems to be set to exceed the company’s forecasts as at the time of launching the phone. The huge demand for the larger iPhone 7 Plus can be directly associated with the fallen Samsung Galaxy Note 7 – a phone that was expected to ship tens of millions of units by the end of 2016.
Now that the Galaxy Note 7 is no more, a huge section of these buyers has been turning their attention to the dual-lens camera iPhone 7 Plus. Although slightly smaller in size than the Note 7, the Plus version of iPhone 7 has what it takes to compete on the same level as the discontinued Samsung phone. If Apple fails to meet the demand for this phone as the CEO claims, it might turn out to be a really big deal for the Cupertino Company.
Cook says that Apple is selling everything that it is producing at the moment, which makes it hard to gauge the amount of demand the company is up against. However, there should be more concrete details as this quarter fades away. The tech mogul further reckons that the idea of other competitors frustrating its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus efforts is “not particularly relevant to us” since the company is “supply constrained on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.”
This is in reference to the poor results the iPhone has been yielding over the past year or so. During this time, many companies have joined the high-end market, offering equally compelling handsets but at far much cheaper prices than what Apple charges for its iPhones. There are also bigger threats such as Samsung, Sony, LG and the recent emergence of Huawei, among others.
As at the time of this writing, Apple iPhone 7 Plus is already seeing huge delays in shipping dates due to the huge demand. Apple is working hard to produce as many iPhone 7 Plus handsets as possible so as to ensure that this demand is met. This is a critical part of ensuring the success of the phone.