iPhone sales hit 2m on record day for Apple
APPLE said yesterday that the iPhone 5 had become its fastest selling phone ever, with 2m handsets bought in the first 24 hours it went on sale.
Despite a lukewarm reception after last Wednesday’s highlyanticipated unveiling, sales of the iPhone 5 on Friday were double those of the previous 4S model on its first day last year, with many pre-orders made over the weekend now not set to be delivered until October.
American phone network AT&T said the launch had been its “most successful iPhone launch ever”.
Demand was similarly high in the UK, with networks saying sales had been higher than anticipated.
“We’re really pleased with the customer response,” said EE, the parent company of Orange and TMobile.
Three said demand had been “extremely high” while O2 admitted pre-order stock had already sold out.
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said: “iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal.” As the extent of the demand became clear, Apple’s share price hit a new high of over $700 in after-hours trading.