Two months in, iPhone demand still outpacing supply

Whenever Apple releases a new iPhone, there's always a sizable chasm between supply and demand. Time and time again, Apple has noted during earnings conference calls that quarterly iPhone sales would have been higher save for supply lagging significantly behind demand.

After a few weeks, though, Apple is typically able to ramp up production, iron out manufacturing problems, and essentially get iPhone supply on par with demand.

The new iPhone 6 models, however, are seemingly more popular than even Apple might have anticipated.

According to a Piper Jaffray research note obtained by AppleInsider, demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 continues to outpace supply, a notable feat for a product that's been out on the market for nearly two months now.

The investment firm issued a note on Monday, a copy of which was provided to AppleInsider, that shows availability of the newest iPhone models continues to improve, but has not yet caught up with demand. Analyst Gene Munster said that his surveys found 56 percent of core configurations were in stock as of last Friday, Dec. 12.

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The inventory situation for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is tighter than last year, when the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were Apple's latest models. It's believed that Apple is seeing particularly high demand for its newly redesigned iPhone models with larger displays.

Indeed, larger-screened iPhones have taken away one of the more compelling advantages Android handsets traditionally boasted over the iPhone. Once Apple releases its earnings report for the holiday quarter, it'll be interesting to see if iPhone adoption from Android users is significantly higher than it's been for other iPhone releases.

Highlighting the immense popularity of the new iPhone 6 models, recall that the number of first day orders topped 4 million units, about double the number of initial pre-orders for the iPhone 5. During the first weekend of availability, Apple sold 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units, setting yet another sales record in the process.