Apple breaks record, sells 10 million new iPhones over the weekend

Apple sold more than 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models over the weekend, breaking a company record.

The three-day total beat Apple’s previous record, set a year ago, when it sold 9 million iPhone 5s and 5c models during their first weekend on sale.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said.

Cook said supplies were short and that Apple could have sold “many more” iPhones if fully stocked. The company is working to fill orders as quickly as possible, he said. Many customers who placed orders for the new iPhone, particularly the larger 6 Plus, are facing shipping dates as late as November.

Around the Southland, stock was extremely low for Plus devices on opening weekend. Several Best Buy and AT&T stores reported receiving no 6 Pluses. A few Apple stores had some 6 Plus phones, but they were limited to Verizon and Sprint models.

Apple didn’t break down sales between the smaller and larger phones, so it’s uncertain whether the company’s Plus-size gamble is paying off.

The huge weekend sales volume for the new phones wasn’t too surprising: Last week, Apple announced that pre-orders for the two phones together topped a record-breaking 4 million in the first 24 hours the phones were on sale. In comparison, the Cupertino company reported in 2012 that pre-orders for the iPhone 5 topped 2 million during its first 24 hours.

The new iPhones went on sale on Friday in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and Britain. Notably, the record-breaking weekend came despite the iPhone not yet being available in China; the iPhone 5s and 5c were released in China on their first day.

As such, some stores saw a flood of Chinese tourists over the weekend. At the Palm Desert store on Sunday morning, the vast majority of those in line were from China.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will be released in 20 more countries on Friday, and will be available in 115 countries by the end of the year.

Apple unveiled the new iPhones at a launch event on Sept. 9. The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch screen, and the 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch screen.

Times staff writer Michelle Maltais contributed to this report.

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