Apple sells record 10m iPhone 6 models in first weekend

Apple sold a record 10m of its newest model iPhones in their first weekend of sales, as crowds mobbed stores in 10 cities around the world.

Early shipments of Apple's latest smartphones rose by 11 per cent over last year, despite the absence in the launch-day line-up of China, where the iPhone has faced unexpected regulatory hurdles. 

Wall Street's estimates for first-weekend sales had ranged between 8m and 12m units. The total represents some $6bn of sales for Apple in three days, based on the iPhone's average selling price, before operator subsidies, of around $600. 

Queues snaked around blocks outside Apple's flagship stores in London, New York and San Francisco to buy the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a larger sized "phablet" that is challenging Samsung's dominant position in the larger phone segment for the first time.

The sales beat last year's record set by the iPhone 5s and 5c, which sold about 9m in their debut weekend.

Tim Cook, chief executive, said in a statement that sales were "shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin". Pre-orders for the latest smartphones had also broken records, with interest for 4m units registered in the first 24 hours available.

"While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible," Mr Cook said.

Apple also said that the iPhone 6 would be available in 115 countries by the end of the year, 15 per cent more than last year, although it did not say whether China would be among them. The device goes on sale in more than 20 countries this Friday, including Russia and Turkey. 

Analysts said that the numbers would be well received by investors, who sent Apple shares up by around 0.5 per cent to $101.50 in early Monday trading. 

Analysts at Stifel said that that the shipment level was "positive" given the absence of China and predicted a 13.6 per cent increase in total sales of the iPhone range to 96.3m before the end of the year. The $100 price increase of the 6 Plus over its smaller sibling could push up average selling prices, Stifel added. 

"We are very encouraged by the initial strong demand," said analysts at Citi, given China represents around 17 per cent of sales. Citi predicted iPhone 6 sales would reach 15m by the end of the month and 45m in the quarter ending in December. 

Mobile operators also said that the devices were selling well in spite of limited supply, although one UK-based group admitted that the iPhone 5 had outsold the iPhone 6 in its first weekend.

UK mobile operators said that sales of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus were split 70-30 through sales channels. The older 5s and 5c models also remain on sale at reduced prices. 

The new iPhones' lack of availability in China has pushed grey market prices for the devices into thousands of dollars, several times their retail cost.

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