Irish Apple fans hoping to get their hands on the new iPhone will be able to do so next week.
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, which went on sale on September 25th in 12 countries including the US, UK, China and Australia, will be launched in 40 more markets on October 9th. Ireland, Mexico, Russia and Spain are among the second tranche of countries to get the phone, with Apple intending to make the handsets available in more than 130 countries by the end of the year.
The phone will cost from €759 for the iPhone 6s and €869 for the iPhone 6s Plus, with 216GB, 64GB and 128GB models available.
The Apple Watch finally arrived in Ireland last week, several months after its initial April launch.
Apple said it had sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and iPhone 6S Plus handsets within three days of its launch, with chief executive Tim Cook describing the sales as “phenomenal” and beat all first weekend sales results in Apple’s history.
When the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus debuted last year, the company sold 10 million iPhones in the first weekend. The new phones’ sales figures were given a boost by China, which wasn’t part of the intial release in 2014.
The new iPhones include Apple’s 3D Touch technology, which distinguishes between taps and presses on the display and acts accordingly. Apple also improved the camera on the devices, adding in 4K recording capability and Live Photos.
No surprise
The sales results were largely expected. Apple said earlier this month that sales would top last year’s 10 million record. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, predicted sales would be 12 million to 13 million, thanks to initial sales in China. The release of an new iPhone has a wide economic effect. Investors watch the iPhone roll-outs closely because Apple’s business is increasingly tied to the performance of the device, accounting for more than 60 per cent of revenue. The company’s stock has fallen about 14 per cent from a February high in part because of concerns it won’t be able to maintain its impressive run of growth.
As the world’s most valuable company by market value, Apple’s performance has the ability to influence the performance of widely-owned stock indexes such as the Nasdaq Composite Index. A chain of suppliers who make components for the iPhone also rely on Apple for big portions of their business. While the opening weekend sales figures are closely watched, a better gauge of how the new handsets are selling won’t come until January, when the company reports results for the critical holiday quarter.
Last year, Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones during that period, generating $51.2 billion in revenue. Sales completed by Saturday will be included in Apple’s fourth-quarter results for fiscal 2015, while sales completed on Sunday will be included in Apple’s first-quarter results for fiscal 2016, the company said in the statement.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg
