Why Apple's claims of record iPhone 6s sales are misleading

Last year, Apple Inc. broke its sales record for an opening weekend of a new iPhone model, delivering 10 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in three days.

At that time, CEO Tim Cook boasted the firm would have sold more of its flagships, but for the fact that it ran out of units to hand over to eager fans who couldn’t seem to have enough of the ‘biggest iPhone yet’.

“We could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible,” Cook had then said.

Apple detractors at the time felt Cook was simply boasting, but the firm seems to have really hit the proverbial jackpot with the bigger screen size.

Now, in three days of the availability of the new models in 12 countries, the firm has announced it has sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphones.

“Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history,” Cook said this year.

Last year, Cook said that “sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier”.

He’s got to be happier this year, one would think.

He may not be. Why?

For one, investors did not seem impressed, dismissing the news by selling off Apple shares at as much as a 2 per cent discount yesterday compared to previous day’s close. 

Why would they do that? One word: China.

This year, the new iPhone’s launch wave of countries included China, which would have bumped up numbers substantially.

Don’t get us wrong – the sales numbers are a massive 30 per cent more than what Apple achieved with its blockbuster iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the comparable period from last year.

But that didn’t include sales in China, a market that is the biggest for Apple save its home base.

Apple launched the iPhone 6 in China in October last year, about three weeks after the initial availability in the US, Canada, Australia and select countries in Europe and Asia (Hong Kong was included).

In the conference call for third quarter 2015 results, Cook specified that iPhone unit growth had shot up 87 per cent in the Greater China, with CFO Luca Maestri adding that sales of the iPhone 6 Plus were particularly important to the iPhone unit growth in China.

Even as Apple hasn’t given a break-up of the 13 million units in the opening weekend this year, it’s clear that the Chinese demand for the iPhone hasn’t dampened in line with a slowing economy, as some analysts had feared.

That means that comparing this year’s 13 million units with last year’s 10 million is like comparing apples with oranges. In short, misleading.

Nevertheless, Apple also seems to have a better handle on demand this year – it will be rolling out the devices in 40 more countries (including the UAE) within two weeks of the launch in the first batch of countries.

“Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9,” Cook said.

Additionally, the devices will be available in India, Malaysia and Turkey on Friday, October 16, and in over 130 countries by the end of the year, Apple said in a statement.