There is nothing about the Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 6 that is slow. This includes the phone itself, as well as its adoption.
But when you compare the iPhone 6 to its predecessor, you may not be nearly as impressed with the speed. And some are a bit concerned.
Once both new models were launched to consumers in the United States, Canada, and a variety of other countries, it was clear to see that the smartphone was going to take off and become an industry leader. In fact, Apple bragged on the fact that pre-orders for the new device capsized four million within 24 hours — twice as many pre-orders as the iPhone 5 a couple years back.
What’s the Problem?
When you have a lot of good, there’s bound to be some bad. With the iPhone 6, the bad is the fact that there are supply delays holding back initial usage growth rates.
Chitika Insights compared the initial usage growth rates of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5. Despite the fact that iPhone 6 sales have been robust to this point, it doesn’t change the fact that the initial usage growth rate is trailing.
Let’s look at the facts. After three days on the market, here is what Chitika is seeing:
- iPhone 5: 2.7% share of North American iPhone web traffic
- iPhone 6: 1.6% share of North American iPhone web traffic
- iPhone 6 Plus: 0.2% share of North American iPhone web traffic
The reason for the slower growth rate is tied primarily to supply delays. Once this clears up and Apple has things on the straight and narrow, it is safe to assume that the numbers above will begin to climb. At that point, after several months, we will get a better idea of how the iPhone 6 is stacking up to the early performance of the iPhone 5. What do you expect to see as the end of 2014 closes in?
As of this writing, Chris Bibey did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
