Customer demand for Apple’s iPhones is again poised to break records, Apple announced on Monday. The company said this morning that sales for its newly announced iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are on track to beat last year’s sales for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which sold a record number of 10 million units during the first weekend they were on sale. Previously, the record was 9 million during the launch weekend for the iPhone 5s and 5c the year prior.
The statement, which was released this morning to CNBC, backs up earlier reports emerging over the weekend that found strong demand for the new devices in China. According to a blog that tracked the back-order status of the new iPhone models based on the times shown on Apple’s online store, wait times for the iPhone 6 Plus in China was running at three to four weeks, and the iPhone 6 was seeing wait times of two to three weeks as of mid-day (PST) on Saturday.
Both models of the iPhone will be made available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., starting on Friday, September 25, with pre-orders that kicked off this weekend, on September 12.
The statement is likely meant to calm investors’ fears over how China will react to the new device, following the country’s stock market instability and the concerns that the “s” upgrade cycle would not be as enticing to consumers as last year’s models, which introduced the big-screen version of the iPhone for the first time, with the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.
But despite being more of an incremental release in terms of Apple’s upgrade cycle, the new devices have packed a number of notable features under the hood, including the anticipated addition of 3D Touch, an entirely new way to interact with the device that involves pressing lightly or with more force on a new pressure-sensitive screen in order to unlock gestures like “peek” and “pop.”
The phones also have an improved camera with support for an animated GIF-like photo called “live photos,” faster Touch ID, and more. They’re made with stronger, more bend-resistant 7000 series aluminum and also introduce a new color to the lineup with rose gold.
Here’s Apple’s full statement:
“Customer response to iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world. We are on pace to beat last year’s 10 million unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale September 25.
“As many customers noticed, the online demand for iPhone 6s Plus has been exceptionally strong and exceeded our own forecasts for the preorder period. We are working to catch up as quickly as we can, and we will have iPhone 6s Plus as well as iPhone 6s units available at Apple retail stores when they open next Friday.”
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