iPhone 6 buyers may wait due to high cost

The Apple iPhone 6

Australians intending to buy Apple’s new iPhone 6 might delay their purchase due to the high cost, according to Telsyte.

The 16GB iPhone 6 is the only model that comes in below A$999, which might be an issue for Apple given the availability of sub-$300 smartphones. This might impact demand, particularly for outright purchases, the analyst firm said.

The 128GB iPhone 6 costs A$1,129, more than the A$1099 consumers will pay for an 11 inch MacBook Air with the same amount of memory.

However, Apple might be creating a new luxury and ultra-premium given that it’s going against overall downward pricing trends, the firm said.

Telsyte forecasts about 1.5 million iPhone units (all models) could be sold in Australia by the end of 2014, or around 100,000 on average per week during the peak holiday season.

The firm also believes there were 380,000 smartwatch users in Australia at the end of June 2014.

Nearly 80 per cent of those smartwatch users were using Android smartphones, meaning the market could grow substantially with the arrival of the Apple Watch.

“There still some doubt of the usefulness or long-term utility of smartwatches, while they simply remain accessories and not a replacement for smartphones all together,” the firm said.

Telsyte expects Apple’s competitors Samsung, Sony and others to ramp up marketing of smartwatches and smartphones before the Apple Watch is released in 2015.

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Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter:@ByronConnolly