Apple Sells 10 Million iPhones in First Weekend
The company broke its own sales record from last year and had twice as many opening weekend sales than it did with the iPhone 5 in 2012.
By Benjamin Kabin •
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If it felt to you like everyone and their mother was buying an iPhone this weekend, you weren't too far off from the truth.
Today Apple announced that it sold more than 10 million new iPhones in its first three days of sales, a new record for the company.
As has become typical, the debut of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was marked by hardcore Apple fans standing in long lines outside of the company's retail stores, some even camping out overnight.
Related: The Wait for Apple's iPhone 6 Smashes Record in Manhattan
Not everyone was necessarily there to get the new iPhones for themselves, though. Many were likely lined up to get the new phones in order to sell them in markets where they're not yet available, like China, where sellers can find customers eager and willing to pay more than double the retail price -- especially for the much sought after gold edition.
Last year Apple sold 9 million of its new phones in its first weekend, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, also a record for the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant at the time.
Apple's new sales record is roughly double what it announced back in 2012 with the launch of the iPhone 5. Back then, Apple had boasted sales figures that topped 5 million in the phone's first three days and that it had sold out its supply chain.
Related: Tech Glitches, Delivery Delays: Apple's Latest Product Rollout Has Been a Mess So Far
That's also been the case this year, even with twice as many phones sold. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company could have sold even more new iPhones if it'd had a greater supply and that it's working as quickly as possible to fill new orders.
The new iPhone 6 with a 4.7" display and iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5" screen are Apple's biggest iPhones to date. The both include retina display, a faster processor and an NFC chip that will power its new Apple Pay feature that allows customers to make purchases at a point of sale straight from their iPhone.
By comparison, Samsung, which typically doesn't release sales numbers outside of South Korea, announced that it had sold 1 million Galaxy S5 phones in Germany. Reports say the company hopes to ship 35 million units by the end of the year.
Related: Apple Pay May Be the Creative Leap That Outmaneuvers Samsung
