Several hours after Apple began taking pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Store shipping estimates for new orders of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus have now slipped beyond their original September delivery date in the United States.
The larger 5.5-inch model now shows an estimated ship time of 3-4 weeks, pushing online availability of the handset into October. Customers still may be able to secure select configurations for launch day in-store pickup, but availability varies based on geographic location. Supply of the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 6 remain strong with most colors and capacities still available for September 19th delivery.
Those who attempted to pre-order the iPhone 6 at Apple's after 12:01 AM PST experienced a number of problems, including frequent crashes and errors with Apple's own Apple Store app on both the iPhone and iPad. Apple's own online store also did not go up until more than an hour after the target Midnight start time.
Customers may still be to purchase launch-day iPhone 6 Plus units by going to an Apple Retail Store on September 19. The phone will also be available through carrier stores and select third-party retail outlets, although supplies at those locations are usually more limited than at Apple's own stores.
Last year it took around four hours for pre-orders of the iPhone 5s to sell out, as all gold iPhone 5s models saw their shipping estimates slip to October. In 2012, it took all of one hour for pre-orders of the iPhone 5 to sell out.
