iPhone 6S release date launch v. Apple Watch at March 9th Event
Is the iPhone 6S release date about to make a surprise appearance ahead of anyone’s schedule? The Apple Watch has been locked in for a March 9th press event to officially roll it out and reveal the remaining details behind the smartwatch product. But there are several reasons to expect that the media event may also serve as the launchpad for the new iPhone 6S as well.
First, the Apple Watch is an iPhone accessory and can’t be used without it. In fact the watch requires an iPhone 5 or newer. The tens of millions of users who still have a 4S or older, some of whom will be on the fence about buying the watch, will have to decide if they want to go ahead and use their upgrade eligibility now to get a compatible phone. With the iPhone 6 already half a year into its life cycle, some will instead opt to wait until the iPhone 6S release date, expected in the fall – and in so doing, they’ll be putting off their Apple Watch purchase as well.
Apple knows that the best way to get a new technology like its smartwatch adopted by the mainstream is to get it off to quick start and sell as many units as possible within the first few months that it’s on the market. The single best way to assure that is to launch the iPhone 6S alongside it, meaning those who don’t have a compatible phone will have no excuse to put off their Apple Watch purchase until the fall, as they’ll have a brand new iPhone generation to upgrade to right away.
Second, even with iPhone 6 sales being off the charts successful, Apple is in a bit of a quandary. By all accounts the iPhone 6 is accounting for about eighty percent of sales while the larger 6 Plus is only accounting for twenty percent, meaning that while the former is a runaway hit, the latter is little more than a niche add-on. That forces Apple to rethink its decision to abandon the four inch form factor, as at this point it’s ostensible that 4.0 and 4.7 inch models would have combined to sell better than the current 4.7 and 5.5 inch lineup. While the Plus is selling well enough to avoid being scrapped, it’s past time for Apple to relent and offer a four inch iPhone 6. The easiest way to do that is to move to the iPhone 6S era now and give it three different sized models.
The final reason for the iPhone 6S release date to take place at Apple’s March 9th media event is the increasing number of customers on carriers like Verizon and AT&T who are now eligible for twelve-month trade in programs that allow them to buy the latest generation every year. The S-model product strategy was based on the old two-year upgrade cycle offered by the carriers, which is increasingly being phased out in favor of the trade-up model. That means there is no longer any reason for Apple to go two years between iPhone redesigns. And the best way to realign that is to begin offering the S-model six months after the fact – which just happens to align the iPhone 6S with the March event.
Jerry Miller