iPhone 5 Sells Five Million Over the Opening Weekend

After the hype and hectic queues on Friday, the weekend proved no less busy for Apple stores and other retailers, as millions around the world flocked to buy the latest model of Apple iPhone. However, there could be plenty of user angst over scuffing of the phone and the iOS 6 Maps app. 

Apple Hits A New High

Somewhere between the prospect of a no-show and huge analyst "estimates", Apple can consider itself to have done pretty well out of the opening weekend sales for the iPhone 5. The company has just announced that it sold over five million units across the 22 territories that it went on-sale.

While some analysts had gone as high as eight million, Apple will be more that delighted with five million, which smashes previous records including the 4 million iPhone 4S devices sold last year. Perhaps the analysts were expecting higher numbers based on the 5 being more of a new phone than the 4S "upgrade." 

Such is the power of those sales that the numbers will have a small but substantial impact on the U.S. and other economies, as well as toward Apple's own stock price and the huge number of supply chain partners. 

iOS 6 Thunders Along

This coming weekend, the iPhone 5 goes on-sale across the rest of Europe, so expect the numbers to keep on rising. The company also has the small matter of the iPad Mini coming in October, plus the launch of the new iTunes and iPod range, which should go even further toward boosting profits. Also on the horizon, and the next big step for Apple, will be the launch of the iPhone 5 into China, the world's biggest phone market. Will the brand continue to hold up over there?

Even better for Apple is the rush to upgrade existing devices to iOS 6. The company said upgrades have now exceeded 100 million devices, which is around one-quarter of all iOS devices out there. Keeping users who can't or won't upgrade yet happy with a new iOS upgrade may help keep them in the Apple camp until the next device rolls along. 

On the Downside

Things aren't quite all plain sailing though, a number of users are reporting scuffed iPhones out of the case, and with phone cases in short supply, looking after your new iPhone could be a challenge. Be prepared for a hell of a recall and inevitable class-action suits if this turns out to be a fault in Apple's design or manufacturing processes. 

As for iOS 6, even though flaws in the Maps app are still causing a fuss, with Apple going into lockdown mode to get the major complaints fixed, and Passbook still need lots more partner apps to go live, the new features in iOS 6.0 seem to be getting a positive reception. 

Out of Apple's control but bound to reflect in some way on the company, is a recent riotat a Foxconn factory in China. Apparently starting out as a personal argument among workers, it became a 2,000 person riot.