2M Apple iPhone 5’s Sold in 24hrs beats all Previous Records
Apple has announced its sales figures for the first 24hrs of iPhone 5 pre-orders see (press release) below. The iPhone 4S sold one million phones and was the previous record holder. The iPhone 5 has far surpassed that milestone by doubling the figure to two million iPhone 5’s sold in the first 24hrs of pre-order.
Though street estimates had this number pinned at about 1.5M units, the Cupertino Company was able to beat those estimates with an additional five million units sold. Within a couple hours of initial pre-order the company moved the ship dates from 1 week to 2 weeks due to demand. Current orders have ship dates out as far as 3 weeks.
Clearly looking at past launches it would be easy for apple to see a trend and have stock available to meet initial demand. Due to this it makes some of the current demand issues seem contrived, though there is no evidence to prove such a statement. It may also be that Sharp was unable to keep up with display demand which had been reported in earlier stories.
The new iPhone 5 is being reported as a slight upgrade to the iPhone 4S with a few new features that were high on user wish lists. 4G LTE, a larger display, better sound, iOS6, and a faster processor top the list as most exciting features. Though these are improvements they are not the expected “blow the doors off of ‘em” features for a major release and could have been easily added to the current line as an iPhone 4S+ release.
Many of the sales can be contributed to termed contracts being up. Many iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 users have met their contract obligations and were waiting for the next release to upgrade. Most major carriers require a two year plan in order to get subsidized pricing on the devices, creating a larger demand for iPhone fans.
Apple has not release expected numbers coming into the holiday season but if the pre-order is any indication of sales to come, Apple will be having another stellar year with the product.
(PR)
iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Top Two Million in First 24 Hours
CUPERTINO, California—September 17, 2012—Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 5 topped two million in just 24 hours, more than double the previous record of one million held by iPhone 4S. Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on September 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October. iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a stunning new 4-inch Retina™ display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; and ultrafast wireless technology*—all while delivering even better battery life.**
“iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we’ve ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do.”
iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new user features including: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and an amazing new Flyover™ view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center; Passbook®, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place; new Siri® features, including support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings;*** Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari® and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud®.
Pricing & Availability
iPhone 5 will be available at 356 Apple retail stores in the US beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, September 21. Every customer who buys an iPhone 5 at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPhone 5 by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.
iPhone 5 comes in either white & silver or black & slate, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model. iPhone 5 will be available from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, select Best Buy, RadioShack, Target and Walmart stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4S will also be available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 4 will be available for free with a two-year contract.****
iPhone 5 will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries on September 28, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
* LTE is available through select carriers. Network speeds are dependent on carrier networks, check with your carrier for details.
** Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
*** Not all features are supported in all countries.
**** Availability varies by carrier.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
Press Contacts:
Nat Harrison
Apple
(408) 862-0565
Natalie Kerris
Apple
(408) 974-6877
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