iPhone 6S sales set to beat Apple records

Apple said it expects first-weekend sales of its new iPhone 6S will exceed last year’s debut of 10m units, after seeing “very strong” preorders since Saturday. The company said the larger iPhone 6S Plus had already sold out online, with demand particularly strong in China. The sales figures will send a message to those on Wall Street who doubted that the company could still increase smartphone sales after a bumper year.

Shares in the group tumbled nearly 22 per cent between mid-July and late August over concerns about the iPhone’s growth outlook amid economic uncertainty in China. But Apple’s stock opened 2.3 per cent higher on Monday as investors cheered its sales forecast.

In a change to last year’s launch schedule, Apple is taking preorders in China, its most important source of growth, at the same time as the rest of its largest markets. It is also allowing two weeks of pre-orders before the device is released, compared with just one week last year. Analysts said the moves were likely to boost initial demand.

The latest iPhones, which feature a “3D Touch” screen, upgraded camera and faster processor, as well as a new “rose-gold” finish option, will be released in 12 markets on September 25.

“Customer response to iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world,” Apple said. “We are on pace to beat last year’s 10m unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale September 25.”

 “Customer response to iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world,” Apple said. “We are on pace to beat last year’s 10m unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale September 25.”

However, for only the second time in more than five years, Apple declined to put a figure on how many of the latest iPhones had been ordered ahead of their release.

Last year, Apple said it had received 4m preorders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which benefited from larger screens than their predecessors. Apple did not take preorders for the iPhone 5S in 2013, although it did for that year’s cheaper 5C model, which together sold 9m units in their first weekend.

Trackers of the Apple Store’s online availability last weekend noted the iPhone 6S Plus sold out particularly quickly in China, while most models of its smaller sibling are still available in the US.

“The online demand for iPhone 6S Plus has been exceptionally strong and exceeded our own forecasts for the preorder period,” Apple said. “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.”

Analysts had predicted that Apple would see 5m preorders, in part thanks to the fact that it went on early sale in 12 countries, compared with 10 last year.

Walt Piecyk at BTIG Research said that while Apple’s forecast was “encouraging”, the inclusion of China in first-weekend sales more than doubles the addressable market for launch day compared with last year.

 “It’s therefore not surprising that sales would be up and should not be taken as strong evidence in support of our view that it can grow iPhone sales in this December quarter,” he said. Mr Piecyk expects 80m units will be sold in the three months ending in December.

“The focus of investors is squarely on the number of phones that can be sold over the next three and a half months,” he wrote in a Monday morning note.

Many on Wall Street predict growth of as little as 5 per cent or less in iPhone volumes in the next year, compared with a 35 per cent rise in unit sales so far this year.

“While the iPhone 6S does not carry the excitement of getting a larger form factor that customers had with the launch of the iPhone 6, we note that additional launch countries and changes in carrier plans could help pre-orders for the 6S,” analysts at Piper Jaffray wrote in a note last week.