Apple sells 13 million iPhones in opening weekend

Californian technology giant Apple said it sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and 6s Pluses during their first weekend on the market, in line with analysts' predictions.

The company beat its 2014 record of 10 million in sales for the previous generation of iPhones in its first weekend.

"Sales for iPhone 6S Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple's history," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press statement. 

These results benefited from the inclusion of China in Apple's opening weekend sales. The country is now Apple's second biggest market.

The company said the new iPhones would be available in more than 40 additional countries starting October 9th, reaching more than 130 countries by the end of the year.

"Customers' feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can't wait to bring iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9th."

Apple profits on the rise

Apple is continuing on its upward trend after beating Wall Street’s profit and revenue expectations for its June quarter.

The Cupertino technology giant reported record earnings of $10.7 billion (£7 billion), or $1.85 a share, for its fiscal third quarter, up 39 per cent from a year ago, when it posted a quarterly net profit of $7.7 billion, or $1.28 per share. Revenue reached $49.6 billion, a gain of 33 per cent from $37.4 billion a year earlier.

"We had an amazing quarter, with iPhone revenue up 59 percent over last year, strong sales of Mac, all-time record revenue from services, driven by the App Store, and a great start for Apple Watch," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement at the end of July.

The iPhone was the key driver of Apple's results, accounting for 63 per cent of the company’s revenue. Apple shipped 47.5 million iPhones in the quarter.

Third-quarter sales increased by 112 per cent in China compared with 2014. "From our point of view, iPhone is doing outstanding", Tim Cook said, adding that the Chinese economy turmoil has not impacted demand in a region that accounted for nearly 27 per cent of Apple’s revenue in the third quarter.

However, Apple remained quiet about the performance of the Apple Watch, and the iPad continued its slide, with the company shipping 10.9 million tablets in the June quarter, compared with nearly 13.3 million a year ago.

Shares of Apple were down 1.5 per cent at $112.97 in early trading this morning (September 28th).