Apple iPhone 6 Plus Shipments Delayed Amid Record Orders

Sep 13, 2014 08:20 AM EDT | Matt Mercuro

Customers may have to wait three to four weeks to get Apple's iPhone 6, after a record number of orders for the company's latest smartphones strained available supply.

Apple's new iPhone 6 devices go on sale on Sept. 19 in the United States, but the company started taking online orders on Thursday.

While the wait time for the 5.5-inch "Plus" device now show a wait time of up to a month, the 4.7-inch version remains available for delivery on Sept. 19.

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Corp. showed shipment delays of up to six weeks on their websites, respectively. Apple confirmed the pace of orders has so far outdone any of its previous iPhone devices.

"Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible, with a record number of pre-orders overnight. Pre-orders are currently available online or through the Apple Store App," spokeswoman Trudy Muller said, according to Reuters.

The latest iPhones come with larger screens and some analysts said before the devices were unveiled that production issues could hurt initial runs.

Suppliers scrambled to get enough screens ready because they had to redesign a key component last minute due to a disrupted panel production, supply chain sources said to Reuters.

Apple hasn't said if the issue would limit the number of phones available to consumers.

Chinese customers may also have to wait until sometime toward the end of the year before they can buy the iPhone 6. Apple has not set a release date for China, the world's biggest smartphone market.

Apple unveiled its latest iPhones, a mobile payments service, and its Watch device on Tuesday during a highly-anticipated event in California.

AT&T's chief executive of mobile and business, Ralph de la Vega, said to investors at a conference in New York that iPhone 6 orders have so far surpassed orders in 2012 and 2013.

"It is such a great thing to wake up in the morning to know that you have hundreds of thousands of orders already before you even have a cup of coffee," said the executive, according to Reuters.

See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?

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