CUPERTINO (dpa-AFX) - As expected, thousands of Apple fanatics made a beeline outside stores of Apple Inc. (AAPL) and wireless companies on Friday for the debut of the latest iPhones.
Apple's latest smartphone offerings, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, started retailing today in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.
Apple had opened up pre-orders for the new iPhones last Friday, which breached the four million mark in the first 24 hours itself. However, thousands of customers thronged the brick-and-mortar stores early today-- and some from last week-- to own an iPhone as the new pre-orders have a waiting period until November. iPhone 6 price starts at $199 on a two-year contract while iPhone 6 Plus is available from $299.
Cupertino, California-based Apple had unveiled the two new larger smartphones, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on September 9, claiming it as the 'biggest advancements in iPhone history.' The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sports a 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch Retina HD display, respectively, bigger than the 4 inch screens in the current iPhone 5S model.
The launch of next-generation iPhones is one of the biggest product launch in Apple's history as well as for CEO Tim Cook, as he tries to steer the company to compete with low-cost Chinese Android phones and Samsung's Galaxy series. Apple generates more than half of its annual revenue from iPhone sales. Apple has sold over 500 million units worldwide since its release in June 2007.
AAPL is currently trading at $101.80, up $0.01 or 0.01%, on the Nasdaq.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX