iPhone 5 Sales Top Five Million in Launch Weekend

[Worldinmii]

I love fanboys. I really do. I can see nothing wrong with someone liking something too much. Sure, the crazier fanboys may be deluded but who are they hurting?

That's why I will always back the fanboys in any argument with the troll or troll like flamebaiters. I don't care if the trolls are right because they're joyless gits who seem to enjoy ruining other people's fun.

Look at it this way, there are many popular artists who I don't like but I don't go and stand outside their concerts and make fun of their fans. If they're having fun and not hurting anyone then I say good for them. Similarly there are some Apple fans who are deluded or who lack a sense of proportion but why should that matter? I don't go to Blackberry fansites and take the piss out of them because of the plastic keyboards and falling sales. I don't try to make Nokia fans feel bad for their preferred brand's lack of recent success. Why would I?

I think this is where the original poster who brought up GSMArena was going with his post - it isn't that they are big Android fans but rather that they spend so much time flaming Apple. That's a negative sort of fanboyism. It's small minded and unpleasant.

I love Apple products. If you or anyone else loves products by any other company, cool. It's all about being happy, when you get down to it.

Nothing wrong with being a fanboy, passion is a good thing....as you said, as long as you're not hurting anyone!

 

[dlmart2]

How many iPhones had scuff marks and dings out of the box ?

about 5 out of 5 million.

 

[kirk26]

I went from the 4S to the S3 and back to the iPhone 5. Damn, it's good to be back!

 

[parapup]

(raises hand) Right here!

I said sales would fall short of expectations, and they did. 5 million vs. the "worst case" prediction of 6 million. Would have been more if it hadn't been long and skinny with a too-narrow screen.

From @asymco - The opening weekend sales rate for iPhone 5 is roughly the same at for the 4S normalized for number of countries

 

[jrswizzle]

Yeah, the latest thing to brag about on a phone that nobody has is the ability to wirelessly charge and to use gloves with the screen.

Lol that "gloves with the screen" bit really cracks me up....

I mean, to how many people is that a HUGE deal??

 

[Spicedham]

Its sold out everywhere and they sold 5 million. How did people expect them to sell 8 million?

 

[KPOM]

I'm sure Apple is disappointed by these numbers. Heck, AT&T alone sold 3 million of the 4S on opening weekend last year.

Not necessarily. If they are constrained by supply then they won't be disappointed by initial sales. Analysts are disappointed since some had taken Tim Cook's aggressive launch schedule and the 2 million pre-orders as evidence that the supply chain issues (specifically Sharp's production difficulties with the screens) had been resolved. Perhaps they weren't resolved quickly enough to boost initial supply.

Also, I don't think AT&T sold 3 million 4S the first weekend. That would have been 75% of the total. I thought it was closer to 1 million.

Here's a key quote: "Demand for iPhone 5 exceeded the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders have been shipped to customers, many are scheduled to be shipped in October."

Apple is saying loud and clear that the iPhone 5's sales impact will not be fully felt until the December quarter. "A majority" of pre-orders is as little as 50% +1 , or just over 1 million. I'm guessing they don't want analysts to make wild speculations about September quarter iPhone sales as they would likely "miss" them as the big iPhone 5 rush won't occur until next month.

 

[Cubeeless]

Hahahaha fail. best phone ever, the analyst has no idea..

 

[DeathChill]

Impressed? not impressed. Do you know how many android phones activated each day?

Roughly 1.3 million, so a single company (Apple) actually out-activated Android for the weekend. I find it impressive when you consider it's one company in 9 countries against a bunch of companies in hundreds of marketplaces.

 

[69650]

It's probably more an issue of keeping the product lines as clear and simple as possible. While I agree, a choice of screen sizes would be nice, there is something to be said for having one phone. You want an iPhone? Well this is it!

As for the screen; I've been using mine since Friday and it still feels a bit on the large size for me. I would have been perfectly happy for them to stick with a 3.5" screen - I genuinely believe that is the perfect size for a smartphone.

That said, the taller screen is great for some things. I find that, along with full-screen browsing mode, the new screen makes browsing in landscape far more useful. Viewing video is another big plus. The new aspect ratio is already starting to feel good - it was odd at first but I'm getting used to it.

The iPhone 5 is perhaps the most beautiful piece of technology I've ever owned - and that's coming from someone who loved the 4/4S design. The new iPhone is just astonishingly minimalist - the very apex of pared back design.

I agree that the iPhone design and finish is excellent. I take your point about the need to keep it simple but we already have 2 iPhone sizes now - the 3.5" iPhone 4 and the 4" iPhone 5. Assuming Apple keep their previous strategy the iPhone is going to be around for at least another 2 years. So that's still a form of fragmentation. Why not ditch the iPhone 4 altogether and just have the iPhone 5 in 3.5" and 4.5".

We already have 2 sizes for most Apple computers. If the rumours are right we'll have 2 sizes of iPad come next month. So why not the iPhone. The vast majority of people I know who bought another smartphone brand did so for the larger screen size. A 4.5" iPhone would convert a lot of those people.

 

[SeniorGato1]

apparently the markets expected better out of apple.

 

[atlas365]

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..."

According to Cook, stores will continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly while people who already pre-ordered their phones continue to wait.

Am I the only one who thinks that those who actually PRE-order should actually be shipped before the stores? Maybe I should just cancel the one that's coming, wait on line for 15-20 minutes, and pick one up at a store...

 

[Rogifan]

This is exactly it, and they do not count anything as sold until it ships so who knows what the backlog is at the online store and other retailers that are selling inventory that isn't there yet, I'd imagine it far exceeds any analyst number.

Well I ordered last Saturday and my order is still processing with AT&T and I have no shipping info.

 

[vikpt]

anything about the 13 in rMBP and iMac???

 

[cadillac1234]

Wall Street has gone full retard.

WTF...
We made 5 million launch units....
We sold out of all 5 Million launch units in under 3 days.
We are making more units by the millions....
People are going to upgrade as soon as they become available.

Yet Wall Street is disappointed

 

[AdeFowler]

Amazing to sell 5 million of anything – let alone an expensive phone – and still have disappointed people.

 

[iapplelove]

64 gb black here! My 4th iPhone this one rocks

 

[Zunjine]

You seem to be a bit deluded yourself. You state that Android fans are always slagging off Apple fans without mentioning all the Apple fan sites were Apple fans relentlessly slag off anything and everything that's not Apple, including Android, Samsung, Microsoft, etc. It's a two way street - both are as bad as each other in my experience.

You also seem to intimate that these kind of vicious anti-everyone who isn't Apple isn't harming anyone. Well have you never wondered why so many people outside of the Apple community hate Apple fans with a passion? They see Apple fans as arrogant and smug.

Personally I don't like the fanatical fanboys on either side. I think they are all idiots and the world would be a better place without them. I buy what I like whether it's Apple kit or someone's kit. And I say it like it is. I don't like the iPhone 5 so I say so. Doesn't mean I hate Apple, just means I don't like the iPhone 5.

I like the MacRumors forums because it's one of the few (if not the only) Apple forum these days were you can have a sensible, intelligent debate without a load of idiots slagging everyone off for saying something negative. Long may that continue.

1) I didn't say Android fans are always slagging off Apple. I said that the initial comment was about that sort of behaviour and not about the fact they are Android fanboys as such. Read more closely next time.

2) I also didn't in the slightest intimate that someone being vicious about anything that isn't Apple isn't harmful. I not only didn't intimate it, I actually made it very clear that it's about having fun and not hurting anyone. Of course, someone attacking others isn't "harmless" and therefore doesn't fall under the "having fun and not hurting anyone" heading.

3) Please take a moment to relax and let out the stress a bit. You clearly didn't read my post very closely and beginning your post by calling me deluded is rude.

 

[KPOM]

Its sold out everywhere and they sold 5 million. How did people expect them to sell 8 million?

The issue is supply. The analysts who predicted 8 million were hoping that the pre-order sales increase had meant that Apple was able to increase supply more than they actually did.

 

[Macist]

When I went to my local UK Apple Store they had every model in every colour on every network.

HOWEVER, around a dozen people within earshot in the 10 minutes I was there wanted the unlocked version of which they had none. SIM-only is very popular here in the UK now and of course some of the people asking looked foreign so were obviously keen to sell them on. They just walked away.

 

[subsonix]

This is called "BUYING OPPORTUNITY".

These IDIOT analysts were irresponsible with their estimates, and are eating it hard right now. Munster was way too far in euphoria to verify his own lofty claims. Shaw Wu was on Bloomberg Radio just minutes ago saying how badly Analysts blew it with expectations.

Apple is selling them FASTER than they can make them. This is merely a supply issue, and they're pumping them out with Herculian power to boot.

Counting pre-sales, we have 40% growth from the 4S, who was a sales master itself. That's massive growth in itself.

Wait until it launches in China, and wait for a China Mobile deal on top of that. Massive.

Do you have a link to that Shaw Wu interview? Bloomberg's website is a mess imo.

 

[jrswizzle]

Let's see....

My black iP5 has ZERO scratches or scuff marks on it after 3 days.

My wife and I just bought a home and used Apple Maps to find our way to a friend's house this weekend as it's a brand new route. And it led us directly there.

Personally I find it hilarious that "scuff-gate" and "maps-gate" are such huge deals, but when the Nexus 7 came out and I had to return 2 with faulty screens "screen-gate" was no where to be found. Just a bunch of fandroids crying "well its only been a few devices, mine is just fine!"

These scuffed iP5 issues are probably a lot more isolated than its made out to be. And it's your own fault for being disappointed in a Maps app that's only in its infancy.

Like many others are saying, if you SELL OUT and you've sold 5 Million, not sure how it would be possible to sell 8 Million....

 

[larrybeo]

The OS is still broke?

Its total sales including the pre-orders that shipped. However it does not includes the sales that are still on wait.

This means there are 5 million people that are lost trying to use their phone for directions right now! I hope they don't see the sales and think the OS is okay..

 

[69650]

Get the iPhone 4S for cheaper....? It's still a GREAT phone.

Can't do that because the only reason I haven't bought an iPhone 4 or 5 is because I prefer a larger screen size. The 4.5" smartphones are better for me because I can comfortably read my emails without having to carry a computer everywhere. Oh well maybe the iPhone 6. One lives in hope.

 

[Zunjine]

I agree that the iPhone design and finish is excellent. I take your point about the need to keep it simple but we already have 2 iPhone sizes now - the 3.5" iPhone 4 and the 4" iPhone 5. Assuming Apple keep their previous strategy the iPhone is going to be around for at least another 2 years. So that's still a form of fragmentation. Why not ditch the iPhone 4 altogether and just have the iPhone 5 in 3.5" and 4.5".

We already have 2 sizes for most Apple computers. If the rumours are right we'll have 2 sizes of iPad come next month. So why not the iPhone. The vast majority of people I know who bought another smartphone brand did so for the larger screen size. A 4.5" iPhone would convert a lot of those people.

Perhaps. But by this time next year there will be more iPhone 5s in use than all of the prior generations put together. I suspect they'll phase out the 3.5" devices within two years to avoid too much long term fragmentation.

I'm not convinced that any larger than 4" makes for a good phone. I understand that some people want this but Apple isn't concerned about catering to all people. If they were they'd be Samsung! I guess it's a choice between designing based on what you like or designing based on what the market appears to want. Apple has rarely designed based on customer demand.