• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, September 14, 2015

Apple’s been having a tough month.

After getting caught in the market’s recent downdraft, investors pummeled the stock on the heels of its bummer of a news event last week.

Officially, the smart money didn’t like Apple's focus on high-end iPads, which they fear could detract from higher-yield laptops and desktops.

(Unofficially, we think a few investors were peeved when the tech giant failed to unveil designs for a DeLorean-like Apple car.)

The company that Steve Jobs built could use some good news -- and it appears to have come in the form of new iPhone sales projections. Yes, after just a few days of preorders, Apple says the latest versions of its popular smartphone are on track to surpass last year’s first-weekend sales of 10 million units.

“Customer response to iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world," Apple said in a statement on Monday. “We are on pace to beat last year's 10 million unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale Sept. 25."

In particular, online demand for iPhone 6S Plus has been remarkably strong, exceeding Apple’s own forecasts for the pre-order period.

Despite the huge online demand, Apple is promising to have the new phones in its retail store by next Friday.

Helping sale projections, Apple is launching the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in a dozen countries, including China. That’s compared to the nine countries (which did not include China) that participated in last year's iPhone 6 launch.

Still, the burly projections appear to be calming investor nerves, and most certainly bode well for Apple’s mobile business.