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Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend
- nt591 13y agoWhen I click this link I automatically download a file called widgets-tweet_button.html.torrent
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- andyhmltn 13y agohttps://gist.github.com/gregclermont/6669056 https://gist.github.com/gregclermont/6669056 - It's being worked on. Doesn't look to be malicious at current.
- luastoned 13y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6430077 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6430077 - HN post/comments
- agumonkey 13y agoI've seen someone complains about this somewhere, and it happened to me on another website, quite confusing. Thanks for https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6430521 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6430521 explanation
- alecsmart1 13y agoThis video sums it all up: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oprUI6nupfc http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oprUI6nupfc
- agumonkey 13y agoI couldn't watch it in one go... this is staged right ?
- alecsmart1 13y agoCheck this also. It's old but personally knowing fan boys, I know they would act exactly like this- http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4
- agumonkey 13y agoI saw that when it came online, you can't prove the latest kimmel video's honesty by using an older one. He also revealed posting fake youtube fail videos so now everything he shows is questionnable.
- untog 13y agonow everything he shows is questionnable Everything he ever showed is questionable, he's an entertainer not an investigative news reporter. However, pretty much all of these segments have been real in the past, so I'm not sure why that would change now. They obviously cherry pick respondents.
- agumonkey 13y agoFair enough. But how do you know the previous ones weren't staged ? Maybe they weren't, it was a believable prank to compare a device with itself and see the average person make up fantasy differences. But here it's an ipad mini of twice the surface, and screen tasting ... I mean come on.
- chatman 13y agoThe glasses on the last guy were seriously cool.
- terhechte 13y agoI was in NY for vacation during the opening Friday and decided to head into a queue and line up for the 5s, suspecting that it may sell out quickly while also leveraging the pricing difference between Europe and USA. This was the first time that I lined up for any Apple launch (execept for the yearly WWDC waiting line of course), and it was overall a fun experience, not only because my girlfriend joined me there and we had breakfast while waiting, also, it was sunny. The 5s has been my first new iPhone since I got an iPhone 4 in 2010 and for me, coming from an older device that didn't even have Siri, I am extremely happy with it. It may be a moot update if you already haven an iPhone 5 (or maybe even a 4s) but to me it feels like an entirely different device (not only because I also updated to iOS7 at the same time, of course). I really like the finger sensor, as it makes login a lot faster. Of course, there're security issues here, but for me it is just a convenience method, if people are able to break through this sensor, they will also be able to use other methods to gain access to my data. I also look forward to apps that leverage the M7 as I tend to do a fair bit of walking and running and like to see at the end of the day how well I performed. I really like Siri, again, this is my first time having access to it, and I already use it for writing text messages, checking the weather, or creating schedules / appointments. In general, the speed difference between my old iPhone 4 and this one is staggering. This, of course, was to be expected, as the 4 was crazy slow at times, but it still makes me happy. All in all, for me, the 5s is a great update and I hope that the 'most forward thinking phone yet' comment from Apple is close to the truth, as I again, plan to use it for at least 3-4 years before updating again.
- hackula1 13y agoI upgraded from a 4 as well. I could not be happier so far. There were many apps that I had thought were just complete sh that now zoom on the 5s (spotify, g+, and a few others). Finger print reader is surprisingly useful, although a minor feature. Possibly the most noticeable thing for me from the 4 to the 5s is the speaker. I always have podcasts running as I walk around the house and noticed a huge difference in quality and volume. With the 4 I often had to plug in headphones to be able to hear over an AC unit or a my car's engine. The 5s speaker cuts through a lot better.
- stesch 13y ago
- sidcool 13y ago5S is much more in demand than the 5C. Pretty good, I say.
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- arrrg 13y agoI’m honestly not too sure about that. Knowing the split between the two would be very interesting. I would imagine that they can make tons of 5c phones while the 5s may be more problematic. So the balance between the two may be more even than it seems. (Also, I would be really interested whether the 5c or 5s is the more high margin device. I could imagine that at least for now the 5c has a higher margin than the 5s – well, at least the 16GB 5s.)
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- partyanimal 13y agoApple's pricier iPhone 5s reportedly outsells more affordable iPhone 5c by wide margin http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/23/iphone-5s-3-times-more-popular-than-iphone-5c-on-launch-weekend---report http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/23/iphone-5s-3-times-...
- lh7777 13y ago"This makes sense since those who feel the need to buy a new device the very weekend it launches are most likely the power users who want the highest-end phone experience."
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- ZeroGravitas 13y agoIt's only really good for Apple if the profit on the more expensive model is greater than the profit on the cheaper one. All the Apple blogs were talking as if the 5s wasn't really available in large numbers and the plan was to sell lots of cheap-to-make 5c models instead. Which is just one more terrible prediction to chalk up, but it seems they at least thought that would be a good thing before today. I wouldn't know where to start estimating the profit margins on either phone, but it's worth mentioning since every other discussion about Apple is about how much profit they make, not how many they sell.
- alexfringes 13y agoThe article fails to mention that this significantly surpasses the most commonly repeated estimate of 6M (made by Piper Jaffray). Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57603553-37/apple-expected-to-sell-5-6m-iphone-5s-5cs-this-weekend/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57603553-37/apple-expected...
- jusben1369 13y agoWell I read several folks ranging from 5-8 mil. I think even Piper said 7 mil possible. Either way they blew through them all.
- jasonlotito 13y agoFTA: Analysts had predicted between 5 and 8 million launch weekend sales across both devices That is a link to another earlier article on Apple Insider discussing such predictions: "In fact, Kuo said in a note to investors on Wednesday that Apple will likely ship 6 to 8 million new iPhones over the devices' first weekend of sales. By comparison, Apple racked up 5 million sales when the iPhone 5 debuted last year. Earlier in the day, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster forecast 5 to 6 million unit sales, a more conservative number based on the prior model's in-store launch sales."
- ZeroGravitas 13y agoNotice that the higher numbers are shipped, not sold. The iPhone 5S seems to be selling briskly, but how many 5c are still in the channel after 3 days?
- akilism 13y agoyou'd think no one needed to line up at all seeing how the oversold the most common estimate by 3 million phones.
- supercoder 13y ago9 million sold. 47 were available in gold.
- mikeash 13y agoRealistically, I'd estimate somewhere in the ballpark of 4,000, which is only slightly less absurd than your joke. From what I've heard, Apple stores typically only had ten or so gold units each available on launch day. That's what it was at the store where I was, and I've heard the same from others. Multiply that by the 413 Apple stores worldwide and... that's not very many. Pretty crazy.
- joakleaf 13y agoNo, but Apple probably sold most of their phones via their web site and not from retail stores. Otherwise each retail store would have sold 20000 phones by the reverse of your math. So 4000 is probably not a very accurate estimate either...
- mikeash 13y agoEven if 90% of sales were online, that's still only 40,000. An order of magnitude or so of accuracy is all I'm shooting for anyway.
- joakleaf 13y agoI am sorry, but I think you are assuming a little bit too much here. You are guestimating that 4000 gold phones were sold in the stores based on a 10 per store rumored number you've heard and 400 stores. Then you guess that retail is only 10% (another guess) and so multiply you original guestimate by 10 to get 40000 gold phones. It's quite hopeless guesswork. We don't know the distribution of models in retail or online. We don't know how much is sold online compared to retail. We don't know how much was sold outside Apple's retail stores (by e.g. AT&T). We don't even know the geographical distribution (i.e. higher gold-ratio in China than US). If we assume a factor 3 to 1 sales of iPhone 5S vs 5C based on Localitics'report (1), Apple has sold between 6-7 million iPhone 5S. Your 40.000 number isn't even 1% of that, so I think you are an order of magnitude off still. [1] http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/23/iphone-5s-3-times-more-popular-than-iphone-5c-on-launch-weekend---report http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/23/iphone-5s-3-times-...
- jusben1369 13y agoIt goes to show you just how hungry people were for change on the platform. Next up has to be screen size which would result in a similar massive weekend for the 6.
- supercoder 13y agoThis was just their minor release cycle, so yeah it will be crazy to think how the 6 will sell.
- mikeash 13y agoI wouldn't be so sure. The 4S sold over four million units on its opening weekend, which is pretty close to the 5's five million, but way more than the 4's 1.7 million. Personally, I'm deliberately on the "S" upgrade cycle. I started off with a 3GS, then got a 4S, and now have a 5S. I figure I'll let other people deal with the bleeding edge, and I can get the model with all the refinements afterwards. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of other people think the same way. I don't doubt that the 6 will sell really well, probably better than the 5S, but it may not sell vastly better than the 5S.
- twoodfin 13y agoYeah, I'm on the non-S cycle, going from a 3G to a 4 to a 5. Each of those had a feature (3G, Retina, LTE) I wouldn't have wanted to live without for a year, but for quality of experience and useful lifetime, the "S" cycle is the place to be. But I expect Apple will stick with the C/S distinction for at least one generation, and my next phone will be called a "6S". Or a "6X" for "extended"? No reason they have to stop at two letters/models.
- alayne 13y agoI think it's also a good idea to wait a month or so after release. What's the rush? Let the first production runs go through and work out the kinks. So far I have heard some reports of screen issues on some 5s models. With a new and unusual part like the fingerprint sensor I'd rather wait a bit.
- melvinmt 13y agoAnd... AAPL is +6.9% pre-market.
- ctdonath 13y ago+20.17 @ 9:59 AM
- yalogin 13y agoNothing moves the stock like a successful product. I am glad they did not bow to market pressure and announce more dividends or stock buybacks. Stock buybacks are just dead money. They should instead use that money on their business and not to satisfy investors over the short term.
- ChikkaChiChi 13y agoCarl Icahn does not a market represent. Carl Icahn and his Twitter account represent himself (and potentially a growing disconnect with reality since his CompUSA days)
- adamlett 13y ago> Stock buybacks are just dead money That is an oversimplification. Apple has more money than it could possibly hope to reinvest in its core business. When that is the case, and when the stock is undervalued as is the case with Apple, stock buybacks are a great use of a company's cash.
- yalogin 13y agoThe point behind stock buyback is simply to assert some confidence in the stock. Which means the market does not have confidence in it in the first place and probably has negative momentum. Most cases I have seen the market is correct. So even if the stock is bought back the increase in the price will be temporary as the negative momentum will surely vaporize the stock increase. It does not help anybody but investors trying to make a profit in the short term. I have not seen a single stock buyback work. I would rather they throw money at anything but this.
- adamlett 13y ago> I have not seen a single stock buyback work I haven't seen a single penguin in the wild, but that doesn't mean they don't exist ;) Berkeshire Hathaway and Teledyne are two companies I know off that have had great success with stock buybacks. Read this http://observer.com/2003/04/the-brain-behind-teledyne-a-great-american-capitalist/ http://observer.com/2003/04/the-brain-behind-teledyne-a-grea... for a fascinating account of Teledyne's story.
- coldcode 13y agoClearly they are going out of business. Not to mention only 200 Million devices running iOS7 so far.
- badman_ting 13y agoYup, Apple is as doomed as ever. Also their customers are sheeple, they are marketing geniuses (even when I write a blog post painstakingly detailing why their ads are terrible), reality distortion field, disruption, etc etc.
- untog 13y agoIs anyone actually claiming that Apple are going out of business? This kind of reflexive defensiveness doesn't really help anything.
- rmrfrmrf 13y agoUm, excuse me, don't you realize that Android has been installed on approximately 8 million times the number of devices that iOS has been installed on? Think of how many feature phones, Arduinos, and toasters have all of the same capabilities Apple's iterative, piddly phone offering. Probably more features, now that I think about it, since, like, I don't have to jailbreak my toaster to get all of the features I want.
- untog 13y agoMocking Android fanboys in a forum overwhelmingly dominated by Apple adulation? I hate to use a Reddit/4chan meme, but so brave...
- epo 13y agoFunny, I thought HN was dominated by Android fanboys. Perception is everything eh?
- venomsnake 13y ago
- Nux 13y agoThere you go, more proof that most people don't give a shit about surveillance, privacy and the lot. Here it is, the one device that can create the biggest fingerprint database in the world sold 9 million units in a couple of days. NSA must be jubilating. Very "forward thinking" indeed.
- milesskorpen 13y agoAs people have written a thousand times so far, the finger print isn't saved off device. Yes, it is saved. But if someone can get your device, they can also get your fingerprint (probably from the screen of the same device).
- olleicua 13y agoSince you are making this claim, I'll assume you've read the entire codebase of iOS. Is there anything stopping Apple from sending out an update that uploads the fingerprint?? Is there anything stopping the NSA from requiring Apple to do this?? It's not paranoia anymore.
- tedunangst 13y agoIs it possible for software to even read the fingerprint from the sensor, as opposed to only asking the sensor if this fingerprint matches a previous fingerprint????
- snom380 13y agoThe processing happens on the A7 chip, but separated from the OS. Of course, the question is whether it's possible for Apple or someone else to update the fingerprint software to give back more data than just the yes/no, or if you could reconfigure the hardware so that the OS can talk to the sensor directly. But again, I'm much more concerned about all the other information my cell phone operator, so this is quite simply just hysteria, and undermines the rightful concern us techies have about surveillance.
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- laichzeit0 13y ago"phone" is a weird word to use for these devices. It's a computer in your pocket with instant access to the Internet that just haphazardly has a GSM module for legacy reasons.
- themstheones 13y agoThey should call them communicators, like on Star Trek. Unfortunately that ship has sailed.
- officemonkey 13y agoI actually prefer the UK word "mobile" which takes away the phone connotation, and combines with "computer" as well as "phone."
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- untog 13y agoWords change in definition. Very few people have a 'traditional' phone now, so the word would become useless if we didn't repurpose it. What is wrong with calling them phones, exactly?
- ctdonath 13y agoThis is even more striking when my kids (3 & 5) ask for my phone: I'm watching a common word get completely changed for the next generation. Adults think "phone" as a verbal communication device, often having been overloaded with a stunning amount of alternate communications & computing power. Young kids see a "phone" as a visual toy and movie player, with data communications, and voice calls relegated to "yeah, you can do that too". "Phone" may very well largely replace "computer".
- swombat 13y ago> Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend, Topping 5M For iPhone 5 Last Year Not a fair comparison, given that 5S + 5C is two models. It would be fairer to compare it to the sales of the 5 + 4S last year - which were probably not 9 million, but certainly more than 5 million.
- reidmain 13y agoI don't think that comparison would be completely apt. In the eyes of the public the different name and colours will stir up different buying emotions.
- swombat 13y agoSure, but prices dropping by $100 also stirs up emotions. I'm not implying that Apple didn't do a great job by moving to the 5S/5C split, just that it'd be fairer and more useful to compare 5S/5C to 5/4S and 4S/4 - if only for the fact that it doesn't leave any room for pedants like me to argue :-)
- panacea 13y agoMy 'if I was an oracle' wish would be two-fold: I realise 5S supply would be very, very constrained initially... so how well did introducing the 5C unconstrained at launch work? I think the 'champagne' phone would have sold out in the launch weekend, regardless of supply. Is Apple playing this out? (yes). Every customer lining up, or entering stores are dropping almost a grand. You want to keep some top tier 64gb 'space grey' in stock, to sop up those who missed out on a different alloy. And everyone who isn't eligible to upgrade? Well you get a fantastic OS, and you can buy a nice case! Well played Apple. And I mean that without bitterness. Great product launch.
- swombat 13y agohttp://qz.com/127294/what-apple-wont-tell-you-the-iphone-5s-is-outselling-the-5c-nearly-four-to-one/ http://qz.com/127294/what-apple-wont-tell-you-the-iphone-5s-... This article is claiming that most of the phones sold are 5S's, actually... which would mean the 5C is making a moderate difference to that number... just enough to bump from 7 million to 9 million, perhaps!
- ksec 13y agoCould Some one tell me how these people game the stock market by releasing news that are um, false or unrealistic. I mean Analyst and Media, wanting to trash Apple for headlines has become insane.
- ChikkaChiChi 13y agoI wouldn't be so quick to start doing the Apple victory dance. A lot of people waited to upgrade because the iPhone 5 was an iterative device and I have several anecdotal cases where people I knew said they would wait for a 5S. Apple has painted itself somewhat into a corner now. Similar to Windows Service Packs, people are waiting for the second version of Apple products to get it 'right'. This isn't to say they got it 'right' THIS time, either. It just is what it is.
- rmrfrmrf 13y agoEvery party has a pooper...
- k-mcgrady 13y ago>> "A lot of people waited to upgrade because the iPhone 5 was an iterative device" What?? The 'S' is the iterative product. The 5 was a new design and new screen size and overall a much bigger update. >> "people are waiting for the second version of Apple products to get it 'right'." What was wrong with the 5 that the 5S fixes?
- ChikkaChiChi 13y agoBased on Apple's existing precedent to 'revolutionize' phones to the average consumer, I'd consider all the devices in the 5 generation to be iterative.
- nicky0 13y agoLet's look at that. 2007: iPhone. 2008: iPhone 3G. Same phone but with 3G. 2009: iPhone 3GS. Same as 3G but a bit faster. 2010: iPhone 4. New case, retina display, faster etc. 2011: iPhone 4S. Faster, better camera and Siri. 2012: iPhone 5. Faster, new case, bigger screen. 2013: iPhone 4s. Faster, Touch ID, better camera. It's hard to say any of those releases were revolutionary except the original iPhone. All since has been steady improvement. And that's a good thing.
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- lawdawg 13y agoWe need a country breakdown considering this launch included China (unlike previous launches). That said, I'm assuming 30-40% in China and the rest elsewhere still puts it as a great launch.
- ZeroGravitas 13y agoIncluding China sales the increase was 29% (7m -> 9m). 33% China would be 50% increase in China (2m -> 3m) and up 20% (5m-6m) elsewhere. 40% China would be a near doubling in China (2->3.6), and up 8% (5m->5.4m) elsewhere For reference, the smartphone market is growing at about 50% a year, in Q2 Apple's sales numbers rose 20% year-on-year and their share dropped over 3 percentage points year-on-year (16.6% -> 13.1%). (These launch numbers assume that no-one bought a price-dropped 4S on the launch weekend last year)
- bane 13y agoSo I had a few separate experiences with this over the weekend: 1) A friend stood in line for a few hours, got to the front, found out they didn't have the color he wanted and left. 2) A colleague in another company got one and she immediately remarked, "it looks just like Android!". 3) A neighbor returned theirs because they couldn't read all the low contrast stuff on the tiny screen. 4) Another neighbor has kept theirs, but complains all the colors and things are too bright and too loud. 5) Another neighbor went in to buy his, got some time to play with it, decided he didn't like it and went and bought a couple Galaxy S4s for him and his wife instead. 6) Coworker said he like it, thought the control panel and "slide away the background apps" was great. Hated that the slide away the emails is now the wrong way.
- pinaceae 13y agoapple is clearly doomed.
- bilbo0s 13y agoWow... were there really that many people out buying iPhones this weekend? How does Apple keep doing that?
- bane 13y agoWhat's more interesting is why do people do that just with Apple phones? Samsung seems to get their phones out and about without the same kind of theater and is matching Apple sale for sale these days. It's like people waiting in line to see the latest Star Wars film, but a crappy movie about Blue Forest Indians riding Dragons outsells it.
- coldtea 13y ago>It's like people waiting in line to see the latest Star Wars film, but a crappy movie about Blue Forest Indians riding Dragons outsells it. Samsung phones are "Star Wars" and the iPhone is "a crappy movie about Blue Forest Indians riding Dragons"? That surely puts your "overheard at my company/neighbor's trailer" BS in perspective.
- vor_ 13y agoRemember all the naysaying? One story on HN claimed Apple had a "Windows 95 problem". Yet it seems that every time Apple reveals a product that tech blogs are disappointed with, it goes on to set sales records.
- kunai 13y agoFirst of all, this is an international phone. Second. there are TWO phones. It's likely that sales figures are very similar to last year's marked-down 4S and 5 sales combined, but if you count the delayed international launch last year and combine the sales after all markets were opened to the net sales this year, there's likely little to no difference.
- badman_ting 13y agoI agree, Apple is doomed.
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- pinaceae 13y agomost frustratingly this is another datapoint that won't matter much in the current slew of punditry aimed at talking Apple down. just go back to the HN post of the 5s launch event and it's full of doomsayers. seems like apple is going against the very fabric that unites neckbeards around the world - and is crazy successful. just like carmakers that stopped catering to the tinkerers. here's to the crazy ones. next week? we'll return to the usual apple is doomed because innovation and open blabla.
- pinaceae 13y agoand to illustrate my point, HN post, a mere 12 days ago: Apple's Windows 95 problem. http://blog.raavel.com/2013/09/11/apple-problem/ http://blog.raavel.com/2013/09/11/apple-problem/ "Apple recently unveiled its new iPhone 5s and 5c models, to a collective “meh”. The stock sold off and is poised to continue moving lower. The market is telling Apple that it is not innovative enough and that its need to do much more, and within that lies the crux of Apple’s problem." But yeah, a lot of comments, falling over each other in their collective agreement. will that same random blog now turn 180 and consider it's failure?
- erichocean 13y agoWill that same random blog now turn 180 and consider it's failure? No. (Queue a half dozen responses about how Apple actually has failed by selling more phones than both Nokia and Blackberry last quarter in a single weekend. Sometimes, I think people who think Apple is a failure are actually it's biggest supporters, because really, who but those most invested in the company's success are pushing for it to do better? You'd only call them a failure if you thought they could do better, right? So...tell me who the Apple fanboys are, again?)
- znowi 13y agoThis is the glorious triumph of consumerism. Steve Jobs would be proud.
- kunai 13y agoIt would be wise to post the official Apple press release: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/09/23First-Weekend-iPhone-Sales-Top-Nine-Million-Sets-New-Record.html http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/09/23First-Weekend-iPho...
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