Chinese customers buy 2M iPhone 5s in first weekend
The iPhone 5, which launched in China on Friday, will be available in more than 100 countries by the end of December.
A storekeeper introduces iPhones to customers near an iPhone 5 advertisement at an Apple products shop in Dongyang, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Dec. 14. Apple released the latest version of its smartphone in China on Friday.
AP
NEW YORK
Apple said Monday that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in China in their first three days of availability, setting a record for that market.
The iPhone 5, which launched in China on Friday, will be available in more than 100 countries by the end of December.
The phone first went on sale on Sept. 21 in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and five other countries, with more than 5 million sold in the first three days.
That also set a record, but it only beat last year's iPhone 4S launch by a small margin, falling short of some analysts' expectations. Apple shares hit an all-time high of $705.07 that day, but in the months since the stock has plunged about 28 percent.
On Sunday, Citi analyst Glen Yeung cut his rating for the company to "Neutral" from "Buy," questioning the strength of iPhone 5 demand and saying that it's unlikely Apple shares will rally any time soon.
Apple Inc. shares fell $6.85 to $502.94 in premarket trading Monday.