Apple released the iPhone 5 opening weekend sales numbers on Monday, and while the numbers are strong, they aren't as "blowout" as some were expecting.
Apple confirmed that it sold over 5 million iPhone 5 units across the 9 countries the phone went on sale Friday. The numbers are a modest 25% gain over the 4 million sales that the iPhone 4S recorded over its opening weekend.
Additionally, Apple confirmed that over 100 million iOS devices have already upgraded to the newly released iOS 6. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed at the iPhone 5 launch event that, as of June this year, there are over 400 million iOS devices out in the wild. That means a staggering 25% of iOS users have upgraded to the latest version of iOS barely 5 days after its release.
As a contrast, as per Google's own
estimates, even 3+ months after its launch, the latest version of Android (Jelly Bean) was being used by only 1.2% of Android users.
Back to the iPhone 5. While those expecting between 6-10 million opening weekend iPhone 5 sales may term the numbers as disappointing, Apple CEO Tim Cook suggested, they couldn't have done any better.
"Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone's patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone."
iPhone 5 sales should receive a further boost when the phone goes on sale in another 22 countries this Friday.
Unboxing the iPhone 5