Apple iPhone 6 Sales Top 10 Million, Breaking Last Year's Record

Apple said Monday that it sold more than 10 million iPhone 6 devices during opening weekend, breaking last year's iPhone 5S and 5C opening weekend record of 9 million.

The iPhone 6 hit stores Friday morning, with consumers coming in droves, waiting in line for hours, and thousands even camping out on sidewalks Thursday night at the doors of Apple stores.

"Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier," said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. "We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible."

Related: iPhone 6 Frenzy Kicks Off; Millions Crowd Outside Apple Stores Worldwide

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus hit store shelves Friday in 10 different countries and regions, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany and the U.K. Apple said the devices will be released in 20 additional countries this Friday and will be available in 115 countries by year's end.

Both iPhone 6 models have not yet been made available in China, the largest smartphone market in the world, because they have not yet passed Chinese government regulations. Apple has not yet revealed an official date for the iPhone 6 release in Chinese markets. The iPhone 5S and 5C were available in China on the weekend of their release last year, which some partners say makes the iPhone 6 sales numbers even more impressive.

"This is off to a great start," said Raul De Arriz, national government sales manager for Small Dog Electronics, Waitsfield, Vt., one of the top Apple specialists in the country. "Considering Apple is not getting the Chinese numbers yet, 10 million is a really good number for opening weekend sales. It looks like demand is through the roof. The number of iPhones Apple sold on pre-orders the first day was impressive, doubling the previous record. Ten million in the first weekend is impressive. By my estimation they are off to at least a 40 percent improvement from last year. I think that this will be by far the best iPhone quarter ever."

Apple said last Monday that in the first 24 hours of accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the company took more than 4 million orders, doubling the record of 2 million set by the iPhone 5.

Apple's new iPhone 6 models are the company's first to delve into the big-screen smartphone market of "phablets," with their larger Retina HD displays. The iPhone 6 features a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus measures 5.5 inches, both larger than the 4.1-inch screen on the iPhone 5.

Partners and analysts also have applauded the fast processor in both the iPhone 6 models, powered by the new A8 chip. Both models are also slimmer than previous iPhones, feature upgraded cameras, and have longer battery life of up to 14 hours of video playback.

Both iPhone 6 models come standard with Apple's new iOS 8 mobile operating system.

PUBLISHED SEPT. 22, 2014