Analyst: Apple to sell up to 8M new iPhones over launch weekend

[RaduTyrsina]

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After Apple introduced the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, its shares haven’t received the boost many were expecting, probably because of investors’ lack of faith in Apple’s future. However, despite the pessimism over Apple’s stock performance, there still are chances that Apple will have yet another impressive fourth-quarter, with record iPhone sales. At least, that’s what KGI’s analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks.

The biggest concerns regarding Apple’s stock is that the​​ company has not announced preorder numbers for the iPhone 5c that comes with a different design idea. Also, investors worry that Apple might face supply constraints with the iPhone 5s.

Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple will likely ship 6 to 8 million new iPhones over the launch weekend. Last year, Apple managed to get 5 million iPhone 5 sales over the weekend. This time, the company has launched two iPhone models, so it will be interesting to see the consumers’ response to that.

A more conservative estimate comes from Piper Jaffray’s analyst, Gene Munster. He sees Apple selling 5 to 6 million unit sales. What’s interesting is that he sees the iPhone 5c accounting for more sales than the iPhone 5s. That could come as a surprise to many, including myself.

And if we take into account that Apple has now joined two new important markets: China and Japan, then perhaps 8 million doesn’t seem like a farfetched forecast. Kuo also says that we will see final sales figures only after the weekend, so that Apple can combine iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s sales into a single number. If you remember, the Cupertino company has did the same last year, with the iPad 4 and the iPad Mini.

What’s your estimate? How many iPhones do you think Apple is going to sell in this weekend?

Source: AppleInsider