Apple made a new sales record this past weekend, selling more than 9 million units of two new iPhones.
The iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C made sales records even though there were supply constraints on the iPhone 5s, which is the higher end, more expensive model, according to Bloomberg News.
The suggested retail price on the iPhone 5C – which comes in blue, green, pink, white and yellow cases – is between $99 and $199. For the iPhone 5S, the price is $199 to $399. The higher end phone has cases that are gold, silver or gray.
Apple stock began the week higher on the news. Apple executives also said that because of the huge sales, the company will surpass the sales forecast for end of the year profits. The sale of iPhones make up about half of Apple’s annual revenue.
In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “While we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5S, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone.”
Even the most optimistic of analysts had projected 8 million units sold over the weekend, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg estimated that the company made about $5.2 billion in sales in just those two days – and juxtaposed that number to the $4.7 billion deal reached recently to buy Blackberry Ltd. Those two numbers show how, since the debuted in 2007, Apple’s iPhones have taken over the smartphone market.
This was the first time that Apple sold its new product simultaneously in China as well as other countries. Those other countries were the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Also boosting sales was the fact that the new iPhones are available on Japan’s largest wireless network, NTT DoCoMo Inc. About 3.5 million of the phones sold went to global wireless carriers. The gold version of the new phone was the biggest seller, but wireless carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will not have that phone available until October.
Some of the new features on the phones include a new A7 chip that is faster than the previous one. Also, it has a new camera that includes a slow-motion video and a “burst mode” that includes 10 frames per second. The 5C body is also different, featuring a polycarbonate body rather than one made from glass and aluminum, as on the previous phones.
