Kantar data shows that the iPhone 6 Plus managed to take a 41% share of all US phablet sales for the August to October quarter, despite only being on sale for a little over one of those months and significant supply constraints.
Unsurprisingly, the smaller iPhone 6 also outsold the iPhone 5s in the same period, taking 33% of all iOS device sales against 26% for the 5s, 18% for the 5c and 10% for the 6 Plus. This is line with multiple sources suggesting a 3-to-1 ratio of iPhone 6 vs 6 Plus sales …
Screen size was of course the key appeal of the 6 Plus, with 58% of buyers citing it as their primary reason for choosing the model, recent data suggesting that the cannibalisation of iPads by larger iPhones is already underway. Overall phablet sales – defined by Kantar as screen sizes of 5.5-inch and up – now make up 10% of the smartphone market, up from just 2% a year ago.
Apple finally appears to be catching up with demand for the 6 Plus, shipping times dropping from 3-4 weeks at launch to 7-10 days last month and 3-5 days as of yesterday.
