14 DAY TRIAL // Chinese customers may have chosen to stay at home on iPhone 5’s launch day, but that doesn’t mean they don’t crave the handset. China has scooped up no less than two million units over the weekend, marking a record in iPhone sales for the country.
Apple can chalk up another milestone in iPhone sales after the official launch in China this past Friday.
Despite widespread reports that customers weren’t lining up like drones to buy the smartphone, Apple confirms that China is definitely into the iPhone 5.
An official announcement from Cupertino this past weekend states, “Apple today announced it has sold over two million of its new iPhone 5 in China, just three days after its launch on December 14.”
Most of those sales were registered online, as Apple has imposed strict guidelines for buyers in the country. For example, Chinese customers cannot walk into a store and buy a contract-free iPhone 5.
Additionally, long queues are becoming a thing of the past in China with riots breaking out at previous Apple device launches.
Apple on Friday launched the handset in additional countries, including Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
The Cupertino giant promises to have the handset deployed in a total of 100 countries by the end of December, “making it the fastest iPhone rollout ever,” Apple says.
CEO Tim Cook commented on the iPhone 5 launch in China saying, “Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China.”
“China is a very important market for us and customers there cannot wait to get their hands on Apple products,” Cook added.