iPhone 6s Plus supplies limited by production issues, claims analyst
Apple says overall 6s preorders are high, and the larger model is already harder to get
Earlier today, Apple revealed that iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus preorders appear to be on track to beat the 10 million iPhone 6 models sold during the opening weekend last year. But the initial makeup might not include as many Plus devices as planned.
While the iPhone 6s is still available for launch delivery in many configurations in various territories, the 6s Plus is currently listed as shipping in 3-4 weeks across the board – that’s every size, colour, and network version, in every territory the phone will be available in this month.
Demand might be part of the equation, since the original iPhone 6 Plus was also popular, but AppleInsider reports that production issues are the actual culprit here. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities sent a notice to investors saying that one of Apple’s suppliers, Minebea, is having trouble producing enough backlight modules for the Plus phones.
Due to the production bottlenecks, Apple is reportedly shifting more of its backlight module orders to competing supplier Radiant – but that’s not an overnight fix. Kuo believes that Radiant is "more skilled" at producing the parts, but it takes time to ramp up production lines to create potentially millions more parts than anticipated.
The explanation matches up well with the apparent Apple Store shipping times, as currently listed, and if production issues take a while to resolve, then the iPhone 6s Plus could be hard to find deeper into autumn. We’ll let you know if we hear anything more, but if you’re eager to get the 6s Plus and don’t already have one ordered or reserved, be prepared for a solid wait.
[Sources: AppleInsider, CNBC]
Read More › Apple iPhone 6s Plus hands-on preview
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
