Apple topped up the launch of its new iPhone 5s and 5c last week by announcing record-breaking sales over the weekend that followed. The company stated that it sold 9 million iPhone 5s and 5c devices, a significant hike over the 5 million iPhone 5 units that were shipped last year. The reasons for the significant increase in sales could be multiple. The first, most obvious reason could be the fact that Apple unveiled not one but two new devices this year. Another reason for this could be the fact that the company broadened its launch market list by including the world’s largest smartphone market – China. The third reason could be the nigh-unbelievable response that the champagne or gold coloured iPhone 5s garnered across markets, in particular the Asian ones. While all these reasons seem pertinent, quite a few analysts are now claiming that the nine million unit number may not be completely true, with many speculating that a fair number may not have been sold to users. Gene Munster, analyst from Piper Jaffray, in an interview with Bloomberg, claimed that only 5.5 million iPhones actually found their way to consumers. The balance was picked up by carrier stores to restock their inventory, a “channel fill” of sorts. The practice of selling as many devices to retailers as possible is normal one, carried out by most smartphone manufacturers. This time around, though, a considerable chunk of 9 million sales may be iPhone 5cs stuck in the warehouses of Apple’s partners, according to Munster.
How many iPhones reached users on the launch weekend?
There may be some fact behind this claim, though. Apple, while rolling out its new iPhone models, also announced that it was discontinuing with the current iPhone 5 this year. In the interview, Munster claimed that he referred to Apple’s channel inventory numbers from its past quarter before coming to this conclusion. In the last quarter, the company said that it had 11 million iPhones in its inventory. Using this report, the analyst claimed that the iPhone 5c may account for three or four million of the sold units. Munster is not alone in this conclusion, though, with Jefferies analyst Peter Misek and Forbes analyst Chuck Jones echoing the same. The range, in case of the latter, was a bit more conservative, with Misek and Jones saying that the actual number of iPhone 5c models sold most likely fall in the two or three million units bracket.While analysts can quote numbers and estimates, it should be remembered that only Apple knows exactly how many iPhones were actually sold over the weekend. More importantly, the company has still not revealed the exact break down of the number of iPhone 5s and 5c units that were actually sold. While most of the reports are talking about the 5c, no one really knows just how many 5s units were sold. With Apple’s quarterly earnings report coming up, it shouldn’t be long before we know how successful the launch weekend actually was.
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