iPhone 6 proves bigger is better

OS improvements, new camera praised by reviewers

Bigger is better and Apple Inc has finally realized that and given iPhone users a product that may be low on novelty but high on improvements, reviewers wrote.

Most reviewers say that the iPhone 6 is the best smartphone available or "ever made", while the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus has been described as a "phablet" that will give competition to Samsung Electronics Co's Galaxy S line of "big" Android phones.

"I think it's a terrific phone. In my view, it's the best smartphone on the market, when you combine its hardware, all-new operating system, and the Apple ecosystem whose doors it opens," Walt Mossberg wrote of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 in the tech blog Re/code.

Geoffrey Fowler, who reviewed the phones for the Wall Street Journal, said Apple has "successfully addressed its size deficiency."

Mossberg said the increase in the screen size is a "catch-up" feature. But it is seen as a welcome change by Fowler, who said the iPhone "felt stuck in a bygone era called 2012" before the launch of the bigger phones.

New York Times reviewer Molly Wood appreciated the new "thinner, flatter and more rounded shapes" of both the phones. But she pointed out that the sleek look comes at the cost of the phones feeling "slippery."

The improvements made to the operating system, the iOS 8 software, and the camera were given a thumbs-up by reviewers across the board.

However, most believed that Apple could have done more to enhance the battery life of the phones.

Joshua Topolsky, who reviewed the phones for Bloomberg, said they were faster than their predecessors.

"Apple will tell you that these are the fastest mobile devices it's ever made, and it wouldn't be lying. These phones scream," Topolsky wrote.

While the new iPhone 6 goes on sale on Friday in the US, Apple Inc said on Monday that many customers will need to wait until next month for their new iPhones after a record 4 million first-day pre-orders were logged, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago.

The company said demand had outstripped supply for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger screens and longer battery life. Deliveries of pre-orders will begin on Friday and will continue through October.

Bumper first-day pre-orders point to first-weekend sales of up to 10 million units, analysts estimated.

"Assuming pre-orders are similar to the 40 percent of first weekend sales for the iPhone 5, this would imply iPhone 6/6Plus first weekend sales could be around 10 million," Wells Fargo Securities analysts wrote in a note.

About 2 million pre-orders were received for the iPhone 5 in the first 24 hours after it went on sale in September 2012. Apple sold 5 million of these phones in the first weekend.

Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5Ss and 5Cs, which were launched in 2013, in the first three days in stores. The company did not reveal pre-order numbers for these phones.

Raymond James analysts said they expect sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to top 9 million in the first weekend.

"Apple will be selling every iPhone it can make, at least through October. Because of this, the first weekend sales are typically more indicative of supply than demand," they said.

The company routinely grapples with iPhone supply constraints, particularly in years that involve a smartphone redesign.

Apple's website showed last week that the larger 5.5-inch "Plus" models displayed a wait time of up to a month. The 4.7-inch version was available for delivery on Friday.

Janney Capital Markets analysts said the large number of pre-orders was due to "pent-up demand" for bigger iPhone screens.

The brokerage raised its sales estimate for the latest iPhones to 37.4 million units for the current quarter and 60 million for the quarter ending December.

"We believe significant demand will even spill into the March and June quarters given supply and the timing of shipments in Chinese mainland," Barclays analysts wrote in a note.

The company said the new iPhone models will be available to customers in its stores in the US, Canada, Australia and some other countries and regions on Friday morning.

AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp and some Apple authorized resellers will also start selling the phones on Friday.

The phones will come equipped with Apple's new payments service, "Apple Pay," which launches in the US next month and allows users to pay for items in stores with their phones.