High iPhone 6 Sales, Even After Bendgate

For Apple, “Bendgate” has proven to be a blip on the radar, a lapse, a momentary embarrassment. Even though their big new phone bent, so famously, in a number of widely seen internet videos, the so-called scandal has done nothing to diminish the mobile device’s swollen market share. In fact, sales of the 6 are set to match or exceed those of the 5 and its variants from this time last year. In fact, Apple, and their newly publicly out CEO Tim Cook, seem totally nonplussed.

In the 3rd quarter of 2013, between 10 and 15% of all phones sold in the US were 6+s. This is all the more surprising, because that figure was achieved with this phone being available only for the final two weeks of that quarter. This is all the more startling because, despite the comical bending, Apple faced other challenges with their new, larger phone. Supplies were sold out nearly instantly, Apple struggling to meet demand. iPhones, including older versions, represented nearly 50% of all phones sold in the past month and a half. Final numbers from the most recent quarter have yet to materialize, but Apple has been explicit that over 10 million of their mobile phone products were sold since the most recent iPhone released.

And Apple is only doubling down. By the end of this month, Apple will have launched iPhone 6 in 36 new countries. When one considers that over half of the world still has no direct access to these products, the potential for growth is enormous, and Apple seems poised to seize the day. This flies in the face of prophets of doom who felt sure that the company would implode following the death of founder Steve Jobs. In reality, it seems that it’s business (world conquering business) as usual.

The iPhone 6 available from Virgin Media and other carriers has achieved all of these totals as the most expensive iPhone offering yet. Without a contract, consumers can (and do) pay over $750 for one of the 6+ models, but it seems to discourage no one. Their contracted models are even one hundred dollars cheaper than flagship models in earlier iterations. Where, exactly, is the ceiling?

Of course, iPhone is so much more than a phone. With this, and the introduction of their new watch device, Apple seeks to unify much of a person’s daily habits onto a single device. For those of us who could nary be separated from our mobiles for even a few minutes, the devices’ popularity is not difficult to understand. While competitors Samsung and others continue to command significant market share, it seems Apple’s industry to define and innovate. And they’re managed to survive for at least one more product cycle.