Persistent rumors suggest that Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) 5.5 inch iPhone 6 “phablet” model may be delayed past other products slated for late 2014 release. Though technical issues have frequently been cited as the cause for these delays, several analysts and experts now believe the postponement may have been deliberately orchestrated by Apple. The objective, according to these individuals, is to prevent competition between the new iPad Mini and the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 from cutting into each others’ success.
Several sources reached this conclusion independently, including Laptop Magazine’s editor in chief Mark Spoonauer, Strategy Analytics’ expert Neil Mawston, and an unspecified analyst or group of analysts at Canalys. The theory runs that there is insufficient product differentiation, from a consumer’s point of view, between a 7.9 inch iPad Mini and a 5.5 inch iPhone 6. This, in turn, would cause buyers to substitute the cheaper device for the more expensive.
To prevent this cannibal self-competition, Apple (or so the theory runs) will delay the largest iPhone 6 until most iPad and iPad Mini sales have already been made. The 4.7 inch iPhone 6 will serve as a stopgap for those itching to get their hands on a bigger smartphone. Large smartphones are indeed all the rage, with 369% growth in sales over the past few years and a solid third of all smartphone purchases now targeting big-screen types.
Apple (AAPL), of course, continues to play its cards extremely close to the vest, and will not comment on the idea or even on the actual release for the “phablet” model of the iPhone 6. Until the phone actually hits the shelves – or at least fails to hit them this September when most of the Cupertino company’s others products will probably be released – there is no way to tell for certain what predictions or motivations are actually correct.