Apple hasn’t provided a breakdown of these sales and analysts say these figures will include perhaps three or four million unsold iPhone 5C’s sitting in non-Apple retail units. An estimate of the number of both these iPhones actually with customers is more likely to be 5.5 million.
There’s a substantial number of iPhone users already, so it’s unsurprising the launch was so successful. Brian Marshall, an analyst with ISI International said: “People forget that there is a massive installed base out there,” so as a result of this when “each phone comes out, the launch gets bigger and bigger.” Phone trade-in programs make this a less expensive option.
The launch weekend figures for the new iPhones look great but whether or not Apple sustains these sales remains to be seen. Second quarter sales figure comparisons for 2013 between the iPhone and Samsung’s smartphones showed 31.2 million units for Apple opposed to 71 million for Samsung.