iPhone 6 Sales Hit 10M On First Weekend

Apple on Monday said it sold more than 10 million new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets in the first weekend of sales -- a new record -- although the devices had not yet gone on sale in China.

The phones hit stores in 10 countries or regions on Friday, including the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France and Hong Kong. People waited in long lines at Apple Stores in major cities like New York and Sydney to get the latest iPhone models.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” stated Apple CEO Tim Cook. The company last week said it sold 4 million of the devices in the first 24 hours after they became available for pre-order.

Helping to drive demand is the update of Apple’s signature product — larger screens — a trend that Apple had resisted until now. The iPhone 6, at 4.7 inches, and iPhone 6 Plus, at 5.5 inches, are both bigger than the 4-inch-screen iPhone 5 models.

While the new iPhone release has been delayed in China, the lack of availability there increased demand elsewhere. People snapped up the prized handsets to resell at much higher prices in the black market. Last year, Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C models in the first weekend, but that total included sales included China.

Apple on Monday said the new devices will go on sale in more than 20 more countries by Friday and 115 countries by year’s end.

Even without the iPhone 6 debuting in China over the weekend, supply was constrained as some Apple stores began selling out of the larger model on Friday. "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," said Cook.

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