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iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus may be tough to find through the holidays

When asked whether supply will start to reach demand, Apple CEO Tim Cook says, "We're not even on the same planet."

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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  • SABEW Best in Business 2011 Award for Breaking News Coverage, Eddie Award in 2020 for 5G coverage, runner-up National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for culture analysis.
Roger Cheng

Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that demand for the new iPhones is far outstripping supply.

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The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus still face inventory issues. CNET

The result: the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus may continue to be a tough device to find through the holidays.

While Apple's suppliers have ramped up production of the new iPhones, Cook said the available supply of iPhones isn't even close to meeting customer demand. "We're not even on the same planet," he said on a conference call to discuss the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results.

The comments further illustrate the continued strength of the iPhone franchise, which got a boost after Apple adopted a larger screen size -- 4.7-inch for the iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch for the iPhone 6 Plus -- and introduced new features such as its Apple Pay mobile payment service. The demand has driven Apple to sell 39.3 million units in the fiscal fourth quarter, propelling the company's revenue and earnings past Wall Street expectations.

"We're selling everything we're making," he said.

Cook declined to provide any details on the mix between iPhone 6 and the larger iPhone 6 Plus, noting that it's unfair to look at the mix because everything is selling out. He noted that Apple saw an improvement in demand from every country, which he called unusual.

"It's not a bad problem to have," he said.