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Apple 'Blown Away' by iPhone 5 Pre-Orders

Apple Sales

I'm not sure if its been mentioned but... I think its safe to assume that these pre-sale numbers dont include the large number of people who purchased the iPhone 4 from Verizon under a 2 year contract.

Anyone who purchased the iPhone 4 from VZW when it was first released (February of 2011) isn't eligible for an upgrade until October 6, 2012.

So even if Apple releases sales figures prior to then, there are a large number of us that have to wait until October.
 
samcraig said:
Please explain to me

a) when has Apple ever not said they've been blown away/very happy/etc with the pre-order for the iPhone.

A -- When have they ever not had a reason to be?

b) why an Apple Spokesperson would ever say anything BUT how amazing their sales have been.

A -- Good point, but Apples numbers always seem to justify the excitement their statments.
Click to expand...

:)
 
Nicky G said:
I can't, honestly, think of anything I'd improve about the iPhone 5. I can't really say this about any other version of the iPhone, other than the original, as the firs tone was so paradigm-altering, we had nothing to compare it to, and it forged entirely new ground.
Click to expand...

Excellent post. Your enthusiasm is contagious.
 
coasterswim said:
This proves nothing.
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I concur.

Apple is a brilliant company... let me say that again.
Apple _IS_ a Brilliant company, especially when it comes to sales and marketing.

Of course they are going to exclaim they are blown away! They most certainly deserve to.

Yet that said I believe they held back some phones (for a short time) just to be able to say they "sold out" in X amount of time, and to further drive up demand.

They are nothing if not masters of controlling the public's mind set about their products.

Masters at making more money than anyone could have imagined, they have this routine down cold.

They know _exactly_ what they are doing, when they plan on doing it, and exactly what the outcome will be, give or take a few thousand phones.

That's my take on it :)
 
I wonder if deliverability plays a role in pre-orders. I mean, how many packages could UPS and FedEx really deliver on a single day, for a single customer?
 
Odd time for Apple to go all Amazon with pre-order #s. If Apple is blown away it should shock & awe us with actual data not gratuitous statements.

I have an iPhone 5 on order but skeptical lack of part supply wasn't a factor to the quick sell out. I'd love Apple to prove me wrong. Maybe they'll do it next week once things settle down.
 
Speaking of amazon, found these! has anyone seen these iPhone 5 bumper cases? What's your guys opinions? Who's getting a case?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009AY0R2I/ref=aw_d_iv_wireless?is=l&qid=1347669739&sr=8-3

Photive Hybrid iPhone 5 Bumper Case - White. Designed for The New iPhone 5

Black and white available
 
Nicky G said:
Yeah. I don't think it EVER would have been possible to avoid this situation. There are only so many factories a corporation and its partners can realistically build.
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Then why didn't they just come out and say that, instead of this star struck silly being "blown away" nonsense? The extraordinary level of demand is, in and of itself, a remarkable story. But as I said, the analysts have been saying all along that demand would be incredible, and you have to believe that perspective originated from Apple, not the analysts. So I don't agree that Apple was as caught by surprise as they're contending they were. And if, in fact, they knew ahead of time that demand would be so high, then why didn't they put the manufacturing capacity in place to meet that? Yes, I agree with you about how difficult that is, but if Apple wants to stay the leader, they would do that.
 
Be fair and logical people.

Let's break this down:

To the fan boys:

Of COURSE Apple is going to say the sales are spectacular. There is a very real chance Apple intentionally withholds supply to create this aura of success and "hysteria" about their new flagship product. They need the news coverage of lines wrapped around the block, not Fedex pulling up to homes with pre-orders.

To the haters:

Despite the rather transparent marketing (which frankly is intelligent, competent marketing in Apple's position.. they're damn good at it) you honestly think this isn't one of THE biggest tech releases in history? Laugh, mock, whatever.. when the real data comes out this product will most likely destroy everything.... ever. Maybe not, but I wouldn't bet against it.


Parties on both sides are being silly. Of course Apple wants hype and will do what it takes to get it. However, when the dust settles the iPhone 5 is going to bring in jaw dropping revenues.

I do like the Samsung S3. I think it's a great product. However, I tend to lean towards the iOS platform for several reasons. Doesn't mean Android people are wrong. I know I'm spitting into the wind here but can't we all behave like adults? Appreciate that the competition has benefits and technology is fun but some of the nonsense and hate on global tech boards makes me just facepalm.

/rant.
 
Times like this...times when we Apple Fanboys all marvel at how successful Apple has become since the death throes of the mid-90s, are the times when I'm reminded of stories like this:

Dell: Apple should close shop

or this:

Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone - MarketWatch

Now, Michael Dell has been pretty successful in his lifetime, making crappy and cheap boxes for the Windoze drones and making them think they were getting a quality product for a bargain. Hey, K-Mart used to make a lot of money too. But you can only sell crap for so long before the public starts to catch on.

But John Dvorak? Does anyone seriously listen to anything this dope has to say? Has he ever really achieved anything in his life, or even proven himself capable of understanding the very industry about which he makes a living writing and prognosticating?

I absolutely LOVE that I've been a loyal Apple user since 1987, and I've lived to see the day that all of my old Windows friends would be waiting in lines to buy iPhones, iPads and even Macs. It's so funny to me how quickly they've forgotten all their dumb arguments to me about how I "must love living in a world with no software." Well, now my iMac and MacBook Air have Parallels and Windows 7 installed, I have every piece of software I could ever possibly need, and all of my devices (computers, iPhone, iPad and AppleTV) all interface with each other seamlessly.

For all of you Apple haters out there, enjoy your hodgepodge of incompatible hardware and software, frequent crashes, viruses, trojan horses and generalized malaise associated with using junk. Meanwhile, the rest of us will enjoy watch Apple's stock shoot up over $700 per share after the iPhone 5 sales figures come out and then watching the likes of John C. Dvorak try to explain how we're all just too dumb to understand why Apple is inferior.
 
KPOM said:
They are highly competent. Even highly competent companies can underestimate demand. It is entirely possible that they did so.
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Not 6 years in a row. Please.

No. Apple calculated all of this. The "pre-order" units were calculated in a way to have them "run-out" in an hour. The rest of the units were distributed to carriers/retail locations for launch day line-ups.

And they will have launch day "shortages" in strategic markets with mass media presence. It will look like a completely unplanned, "blown away by demand" scenario. In the meantime, stock will trickle out slowly of other, more obscure locations that secured "more supply" than they should have. Don't get me wrong, they will eventually sell out too.

Apple ships simulataneously to more countries and carriers each year. They weren't "Blown away". This is all strategically calculated and analysed. Their launch day numbers will both be phenomenal and yet they will have On-camera line-ups and shortages to show for it. It's all going according to plan.

Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't give Apple enough credit. Apple is much smarter than they let on and it's working as evidenced by the mass of people here who refuse to believe Apple anticipated all of this.

Or are you saying I'm giving them too much credit for thinking all of this through and managing inventory in a way to make it seem like there's shortages while still getting everyone a handset in the first few weeks to have a blow out quarter ?
 
lockerc18 said:
Then why didn't they just come out and say that, instead of this star struck silly being "blown away" nonsense? The extraordinary level of demand is, in and of itself, a remarkable story. But as I said, the analysts have been saying all along that demand would be incredible, and you have to believe that perspective originated from Apple, not the analysts. So I don't agree that Apple was as caught by surprise as they're contending they were. And if, in fact, they knew ahead of time that demand would be so high, then why didn't they put the manufacturing capacity in place to meet that? Yes, I agree with you about how difficult that is, but if Apple wants to stay the leader, they would do that.
Click to expand...

I don't think the phrase "blown away" necessarily has all of the connotations you guys are reading into it. Let me offer an example.

Have you ever had sex? Good sex, I mean. If you have, you know it's a pretty swell thing. Admittedly, it has been a bit longer for me since last time given my perpetual state of singleness, but it's pretty easy for me to think back to some great times.

If I met an awesome lady sometime, and ended up "doing the nasty" and it was a great time, I can imagine lying in bed afterward and having a great big grin on my face. It's not that it would have been entirely new territory, but when something is great, and you do it again, after it has been a while, there is a certain level of satisfaction that takes place.

Could I use the phrase "blown away" (read into it as much of a pun as you care to) to describe how I'd be feeling, lying in bed afterward? I think that would be a fair description. Trust me, right now, if I had an evening of fantastic sex with a great lady, I would most definitely be blown away afterword, despite the fact that I'm not a virgin.

Could I have predicted that I would enjoy that night of romping? Yeah, probably. What if it was even a bit better than I had expected? For an already wonderful thing, after a period of absence, to even go a bit passed expectations? Would it be possible for me to be blown away, afterward?

Now, this is me talking about my boring ol' sex life. Imagine that if instead of getting laid, we were talking about selling more of a consumer electronics product in a one hour period than ANY OTHER CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DEVICE IN HISTORY, AND IN THE PROCESS, MAKING MORE MONEY THAN GOD.

Would it be fair to describe your reaction to be one of being "blown away?"

I think so.
 
MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


An Apple spokesperson said the company was "blown away" by the response to the iPhone 5, according to a statement obtained by The Loop.
Image


The iPhone 5's initial shipment sold out within hours of going on sale early this morning, with shipping estimates slipping to 2-3 weeks by this afternoon. The iPhone 5 goes on sale next Friday.

Article Link: Apple 'Blown Away' by iPhone 5 Pre-Orders
Click to expand...

Actually, orders slipped to 2 weeks around 12:45 AM PST (at least for orders through Apple directly). There are plenty of reports in the other thread of people who placed their orders through the Apple Store website and app about 45 minutes to an hour after pre-orders started, and their shipments are delayed to 2 weeks.
 
TMay said:
And yet, Apple blows away previous records on every launch of a new iPhone.

But thanks for playing.
Click to expand...

KnightWRX said:
You seem to know me better than I know myself. Can you please quote me where I have ever claimed the iPhone would fail sales wise ? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Neither you or I ever said the iPhone 5 would fail. Or not sell well. Nothing we posted in this thread has suggested that either. Straw man argument. Either that or complete irrational posters. Take your pick.

Pointing out that they use the same phrase launch after launch and the tone of it doesn't have anything to do whatsoever with my beliefs of whether the phone is a hot seller or not. It's a comment on the language and lack of surprise on my behalf that the comment was made (again).

I think even a search on this site will show that I pretty much have always maintained that the iPhone will always sell (very) well.
 
dgree03 said:
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-blown-away-by-iphone-pre-orders-again-2012-9

I am not the only one..
Click to expand...

Ah nice, someone other than me picked up on it. I too thought the whole situation waaaaayyy too familiar. That's why I bothered to dig up last year's news of the 4S launch.

Same "carrier reservation system" problems. Same "pre-orders selling out quickly", heck same "Blown away" quote from spokespeople at Apple.

Seriously folks, it's ingenuous. Apple has iPhone launches down. They know how to engineer shortages while still maintaining record numbers by manipulating the channels to provide just barely enough inventory, controlling how fast the pre-orders sell out, and making sure locations that are covered by the media show line-ups and little disappointed faces for the camera while still providing those folks with a handset quickly enough to keep them coming back.

Apple are truely brilliant.
 
I had no problem pre ordering mine. At 3:15am est, I signed into att.com, clicked upgrade, selected what I wanted, checked out, and had a confirmation number for my purchase and a shipping date of September 21st. This took all of 45 seconds. Everyone that stayed on apple.com hitting refresh every 5 seconds, I thank you for being dumb enough to overload thei lr servers therefore allowing me to upgrade.
 
lockerc18 said:
Then why didn't they just come out and say that, instead of this star struck silly being "blown away" nonsense? The extraordinary level of demand is, in and of itself, a remarkable story. But as I said, the analysts have been saying all along that demand would be incredible, and you have to believe that perspective originated from Apple, not the analysts. So I don't agree that Apple was as caught by surprise as they're contending they were. And if, in fact, they knew ahead of time that demand would be so high, then why didn't they put the manufacturing capacity in place to meet that? Yes, I agree with you about how difficult that is, but if Apple wants to stay the leader, they would do that.
Click to expand...

I see a few problems with that.

First, infrastructure takes time to set up. You can't just snap your fingers and expect factories to pop up overnight and automatically be staffed with workers.

Second, what happens to all this excess capacity when demand for the iphone5 smoothens out a few months later? You are going to have lots of machinery idle and workers laid off, and this downtime is going to cost money as well.

Thirdly, I think Apple trusts that the people who do want an iphone, want it badly enough that they are willing to wait to get one, rather than opt for the next best non-apple alternative (like an S3). Likewise, not everyone's contract ends immediately, some may have bought their iphone4 later and can recontract only towards the end of the year.

Lastly, it makes no sense to hoard inventory for several months prior to release. The longer it takes to announce the iphone, the greater the chance of another competitor releasing a product which leapfrogs the iphone's features. Not to mention that keeping inventory in warehouses also costs money.

I think Apple would have done their sums and concluded that in the long run, it is simply more efficient to undersupply now, then risk oversupplying in the future. Tim is supposed to be a supply-chain management expert after all. :)
 
Tim Cook's strength (from what I understand) is managing supply chain logistics. Therefore, I don't think Apple will intentionally underestimate the number of units needed for a product launch on his watch.
 
ixodes said:
I concur.

Apple is a brilliant company... let me say that again.
Apple _IS_ a Brilliant company, especially when it comes to sales and marketing.

Of course they are going to exclaim they are blown away! They most certainly deserve to.

Yet that said I believe they held back some phones (for a short time) just to be able to say they "sold out" in X amount of time, and to further drive up demand.

They are nothing if not masters of controlling the public's mind set about their products.

Masters at making more money than anyone could have imagined, they have this routine down cold.

They know _exactly_ what they are doing, when they plan on doing it, and exactly what the outcome will be, give or take a few thousand phones.

That's my take on it :)
Click to expand...


Why would a publicly traded company intentionally hold units back. That makes no sense. There bottom line, i.e profits, is really the most important thing to an investor. I am not saying there was not a smaller number of units versus last year, as production problems have been rumored to have occurred, but there is no way Apple would have willfully held back units.
 
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