Apple Inc. (AAPL) has had yet another successful iPhone launch, topping previous years launch weekend sale by one million. As a matter of fact, the iPhone 5 sold 5 million units during the first weekend it was on sale surpassing the iPhone 4S sales which sold 4 million units in the first 3 days of release.

Although the sales for the iPhone 5 are higher and pre orders reached 2 million in 24 hours, it did not meet the expectations of Wall Street analysts who predicted that AAPL would sell over 8 million units.

Alongside the news of the 5 million iPhone 5s sold, Apple also announced that over 100 million iOS devices have been updated to iOS 6, bringing the company’s new Maps application to older devices, as well as a number of other features such as Do Not Disturb and Passbook. Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the sale of 5 million iPhone 5 units:

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. 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.

Many users who preordered still have not received their iPhone 5 as demand for the product exceeded initial supply, leaving users with shipments slated to arrive in October. It normally takes Apple several weeks to meet up with the initial demand for its products, regulating shipping dates as sales come in. With the iPhone, shipping dates generally drop to 1 week or less after the first 4 weeks of initial sales.

The 5 million figure for the iPhone 5 accounts only for the units Apple was able to ship to its customers. Its possible that the pre-order numbers could be much higher however, due to supply constraints the company was unable to account for those units that have not been delivered yet. The quarterly financial report that the company is expected to announce would give a better picture of the devices sold. As the holiday season approaches Apple could set yet another record sales as nearly all of its products have been completely redesigned for this year.

{Via AppleInsider}

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