All pink iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus units are sold out on Apple.com in most markets, with the iPhone maker saying the new models are already selling so well they’ll actually beat last year’s opening weekend record. However, while Apple and analysts are citing high demand for the iPhone 6s models, with particular emphasis on the 5.5-inch model, there might be an entirely different reason the device is out of stock.
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KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple insider whose past reports have almost always been accurate, said Apple is currently fighting with supply shortages related to one iPhone 6s Plus component, which is why the device is out of stock.
Ordering a sold out iPhone 6s model will get you a shipping estimate of two to three weeks, while backordered iPhone 6s Plus handsets are shipping a week later than that.
Kuo says that Apple supplier Minebea is having difficulties with a critical component, the backlight module, which is why Apple had to order additional supply from Radiant.
“We believe Minebea’s (JP) backlight module production issues in supplying iPhone 6S Plus (6S Plus) is one of the main factors in the model’s supply shortage. To tackle this issue, we believe Apple (US) has been increasingly transferring high-ASP 6S Plus backlight module orders to Radiant (6176 TT, NT$106.5, OP), boosting its sales momentum,” Kuo said in a note to investors seen by MacRumors. “To accelerate availability, we believe Apple has been transferring substantial 6S Plus backlight module orders to Radiant. As such, we estimate the company’s iPhone 6S Plus backlight module orders to increase by 70-80% to 4-5mn units in September, boosting its order allocation from 35-45% to 70-80%.”
Kuo further said that Apple will have 1.5 million to 2 million iPhone 6s Plus units on hand for sale on September 25th, which is when the new iPhones hit store shelves.
