Apple shatters record with 4 million iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders in first 24 hours

Silencing critics who said it was late to the party with larger smartphones, Apple announced that it sold over 4 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units in the first 24 hours of pre-order availability.  Apple hasn’t specified how many people pre-ordered the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 versus the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus (and we don’t expect them to, as evidenced by iPod and iPad sales numbers never being broken down by model,) but it is clear to see that many people didn’t just want a bigger phone—they wanted a bigger iPhone.

The 4 million figured is mind-blowing, as it equates to about 166,667 iPhone 6 smartphones sold per hour. To put it into even clearer context, prior to the iPhone 6, the biggest pre-order period for Apple was last year’s iPhone 5s and 5c, which saw “just” 2 million pre-orders in the first 24 hours. A year later, Apple doubled that number with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. With the iPhone 5s and 5c, Apple later announced that is sold 9 million units in the first three days. It will be interesting to see what the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus end up selling in the first weekend of availability in comparison.

Since the devices went on pre-order, the iPhone 6 is now sold out, showing a 7-10 day backorder. Meanwhile, the larger iPhone 6 Plus is showing a 3-4 week wait. If you want to get your hands on either of these new Apple smartphones sooner, you’ll need to wait in line at an Apple Store or carrier store and hope there’s enough stock this Friday morning.

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