苹果(Apple)惊人的iPhone销售没有呈现放缓迹象——至少从首个周末的销量来看是这样。
本周一，苹果公司表示，新的iPhone 6s和6s Plus从上周五开始发售以来共卖出了逾1300万部，创下了首个周末的销售记录。去年iPhone 6和6 Plus的首个周末销量为1000万部。
新iPhone销量增长的重要原因，可能是其首发市场的变化。iPhone今年的首发市场包括十几个国家和地区，其中就有苹果最大的市场之一中国。去年，中国不在iPhone的首发地区名单中，似乎是因为设备当时没有获得中国监管机构的批准。
BTIG研究公司(BTIG Research)分析师沃尔特·皮西科(Walter Piecyk)表示，将中国加入首发地区名单使得初始市场规模增加了一倍多。穴鸟研究公司(Jackdaw Research)的首席分析师简·道森(Jan Dawson)表示，他也认为首个周末的销量会超过去年，因为与前一代产品相比，新iPhone从预定到销售相隔的时间要长一些。
这一销售数据略微超过了华尔街的一些预测。FBR资本市场公司(FBR Capital Markets)分析师丹尼尔·艾夫斯(Daniel Ives)预计苹果在开售周末会卖出1300万部手机，他表示，华尔街认为苹果会售出大约1200万部。派杰投资研究公司(Piper Jaffray)分析师基尼·蒙斯特(Gene Munster)预计销量在1200万至1300万之间。
首个周末的销售数字在一定程度上反映了对iPhone的总体需求，是一个重要的衡量标准，因为iPhone为苹果带来了大部分收入。最初的销售状况也预示着新款iPhone智能手机在年终假日季的表现会有多好。对于个人消费品公司而言，年终假日季通常是最重要的销售时段。
瑞银(UBS)预计，苹果在今年第四季度将会售出7840万部iPhone，比去年增加400万，而FBR资本市场预测，iPhone的销量将会达到7700万部。
周末期间，人们在一些苹果商店前露营，以便买到新款iPhone。这一潮流已经变成了某种传统。为了减少漫长的排队等候时间，苹果让顾客在网上预约，选好前往商店拿手机的时间段。
艾夫斯表示，他周五去了位于曼哈顿第五大道的苹果商店，看到大约1100名顾客排队等待在上午8点的预约时段，还有500多名未经预约而来的顾客，这比他去年见到的人多。
在位于洛杉矶格鲁夫购物中心的苹果商店，顾客们在华氏90度（约合32摄氏度）的高温下排队等候获取自己的新手机。商店员工分发了免费的瓶装水、可沛利(Capri Sun)饮料、水果燕麦棒，并提供大型遮阳伞。
接近傍晚时分，主演《欢乐合唱团》(Glee)的电视明星莱亚·米歇尔(Lea Michele)来到格鲁夫取走自己的手机：苹果新推出的玫瑰金iPhone 6s Plus。（中国进出口网）
Apple’s iPhone juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down — at least wher first-weekend sales are concerned.
On Monday, Apple said it had sold more than 13 million new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices since they became available for sale on Friday, a record for first-weekend sales. That was up from the 10 million iPhones sold last year during the first weekend that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were sold.
Any increase in sales was most likely helped by the geography of the markets wher the new iPhones became available. This year, the iPhones went on sale in a dozen countries and territories, including China, which is one of Apple’s biggest markets. Last year, China was not among the countries that sold the iPhone on the first weekend, apparently because the devices had not received approval from Chinese regulators.
Adding China to the product introduction more than doubled the initial market size, according to Walter Piecyk, an analyst at BTIG Research. Jan Dawson, the chief analyst at Jackdaw Research, said he also expected first-weekend sales to be higher than last year because the period for ordering the new iPhones before their sale date was longer than that for the previous generation of the device.
The sales numbers slightly outpaced some Wall Street estimates. Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital, projected that Apple would sell 13 million phones on the opening weekend, and he said that Wall Street had expected that Apple would sell about 12 million. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray had predicted sales of 12 million to 13 million.
First-weekend sales help indicate overall iPhone demand, an important measure given that the device accounts for the majority of Apple’s revenue. The initial sales also are a marker for how well the new smartphones may do during the end-of-year holiday season, which is typically the most significant sales period for consumer product companies.
This year, UBS estimates that Apple will sell 78.4 million iPhones in the December quarter, up four million from last year, while FBR predicts the sale of 77 million iPhones.
Over the weekend, people camped out in front of some Apple stores to buy the new iPhones, a trend that has become something of a tradition. To cut down on long wait times in line, Apple let people sign up online for time slots during which to pick up their phones in stores.
Mr. Ives said he was at the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Friday, wher he saw about 1,100 customers in line for the 8 a.m. appointment slot and 500 more people walking in without appointments, which is more than he saw last year.
At the Apple store in the Grove mall in Los Angeles, customers stood in the 90-degree heat to collect their new phones. Store employees handed out free bottled water, packs of Capri Sun, fruit and granola bars and provided large umbrellas for shade.
Late in the afternoon, the “Glee” TV star Lea Michele stopped by the Grove to pick up her phone: the iPhone 6s Plus in Apple’s new rose-gold color.
