Apple IPhone 6, 6 Plus Sales Breach Record 10 Mln Mark In Three Days

(RTTNews) - Technology giant Apple, Inc. (AAPL) announced Monday it has set a new record for first weekend sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, having breached the 10 million mark within just three days of its sales launch on September 19. Sales came from the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK over the weekend.

Meanwhile, several analysts had predicted that between 6 million and 10 million iPhone 6's would be sold over the opening weekend. Analysts also say the tally to have been 20 percent more had the new iPhones been launched in China this week as well.

"Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn't be happier. We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

The new iPhone 6's have been flying off store shelves at a blistering pace after enjoying the most lucrative launch in the history of consumer electronics. Apple fans across nine countries in Europe, Asia and Australia have been queuing up and causing road blocks in a bid to get their hands on the new larger screen iPhone's over the weekend.

Its pre-orders had breached the 4 million mark within just 24 hours of its opening for taking orders on September 12, more than double the previous record of 2 million orders in 24 hours for the iPhone 5 in September in 2012.

Last year, Apple sold a total of of nine million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units over the first weekend of availability. The pre-order numbers were not reported last year, but analysts peg the pre-orders for iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c at about 2.2 million.

Meanwhile, more than 5 million iPhone 5's were sold in September 2012 over the first weekend of sales, compared to more than 1.7 million iPhone 4's sold on its first weekend. Apple went on to sell over 4 million iPhone 4S' in its first weekend in October 2011. Just over 1 million for the 3GS were sold in the opening weekend.

Cupertino, California-based Apple unveiled the two new larger smartphones, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, at a media event hosted by Cook in San Francisco on September 9. Cook said at the launch that it is the "biggest advancements in iPhone history."

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sport a 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch Retina HD display, respectively, bigger than the 4 inch screens in the current iPhone 5S model. The new iPhones include iOS 8, the biggest release since the App Store. Apple Pay will also be available to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers in the U.S. as a free update to iOS 8 this October

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are available in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB versions, with the iPhone 6 retailing at $199 on two-year contract, and iPhone 6 Plus at $299, both the 16 GB model. The iPhones are available in gold, silver or space gray.

The new models were available from Friday in Apple retail stores, the Apple Online Store, and through AT&T, (T) Sprint (S), T-Mobile (TMUS), Verizon Wireless (VZ), additional carriers, and select Apple Authorized Resellers including Best Buy, Target and Walmart.

Apple noted that customers are encouraged to check the Apple Store app or online to receive updates on availability and estimated delivery dates. Lead-times for the iPhone 6 on Apple's US website is 7 to 10 business days and it is 3 to 4 weeks for the 6 Plus, which uses the larger of the screens.

The iPhones will be available in more than 20 additional countries from Friday, September 26. The new iPhones will be available in 115 countries by the end of the year.

Apple currently competes with the feature filled low-cost Chinese Android phones and Samsung's Galaxy series. Apple generates majority of its revenue from sales of iPhones. Apple has sold over 500 million units worldwide since its release in June 2007.

According to comScore data, the Android operating system dominates in market share. However, the iPhone is the No. 1 device in the U.S., with a 41.9 percent market share, compared to 27.8 percent for Samsung and its Galaxy line of smartphones.

In Monday's regular trading session, AAPL is currently trading at $101.67, up $0.70 or 0.70% on a volume of 8.55 million shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $67.77 to $103.74.