In a statement to CNBC, Apple says iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus orders are “on pace to beat” the record 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders sales from last year’s launch weekend.
Apple:
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.
Apple shares rose in premarket trading following the announcement.
An iPhone Inventory blog, which tracks the back-order status of the iPhone models, says the wait time for the iPhone 6s Plus in China is currently at three to four weeks, while the 6sis at about three weeks. Re/code reported that on Saturday.
Apple’s release this year doesn’t indicate how many units it sold in the first 24 hours of preorders, differing from last year’s initial statement. Tech analyst Walter Piecyk said Monday it’s not clear how to compare initial preorders to 2014.
“Last year, it started on a Thursday night at midnight. This year, because of a late Labor Day, is was Friday night,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an interview. “So we don’t know the comp is, whether they have to wait through the end of Monday to find out exactly what the actual number is going to be.”
Piecyk continued, saying from a feature standpoint, the new force touch incorporated in the iPhone might not be enough on its own for users to upgrade: “But from a functionality, it’s actually great.”
Apple debuted the new handsets at their big event on Wednesday of last week, and pre-orders kicked-off this weekend.
