Apple announces record-breaking weekend sales: 9m iPhones 5s and 5c sold since launch

Sales breakdowns of the 5s vs the 5c have not been released, but the 5s is expected to have comfortably outsold the plastic-backed 5c

James Vincent
Wednesday 25 September 2013 16:38 BST
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Norman Hicks, left, and Jess Green, aged 15, the first two customers at the front of the queue, pose for photographers with boxed iPhone 5s handsets as they leave the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London
Norman Hicks, left, and Jess Green, aged 15, the first two customers at the front of the queue, pose for photographers with boxed iPhone 5s handsets as they leave the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London

Apple has announced record breaking sales of its new iPhone 5s and 5c models, with 9 million devices bought in the three days following the 20 September launch.

This figure is nearly double last year’s sales of the iPhone 5 – which sold more than 5 million units in an identical time period. This itself was a step-up from sales of the iPhones 4s, which sold 4 million units during its opening weekend in 2011.

“This is our best iPhone launch yet―more than nine million new iPhones sold―a new record for first weekend sales,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

(Click here to read our reviews of the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c)

Although Apple has not released a breakdown of sales between the 5s and the 5c, it’s expected that the 5s has been selling more. Whilst the 5c is still available from Apple’s website, the 5s was knocked back to a delivery time of 7-10 business days minutes after launching and is now shipping from October.

“The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible, and 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,” said Cook.

It’s unlikely that Apple will release a breakdown of the 5s vs the 5c as it has never so for iPad vs iPad mini sales, choosing to release the headline figures only. However, swifter sales of the 5s were to be expected as the consumers most likely to buy products right after their launch are also those more interested in the latest hardware.

To keep the good news rolling, Apple also reported a successful launch of iOS 7, announcing that 200 million iPhones had already upgraded to the latest version of the company’s mobile operating system. This is being regarded as the fastest software update in history.

(Click here to read our guide to updating to iOS 7, and what to do once you've got it)

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