Peter Kafka

Recent Posts by Peter Kafka

Apple Says It’s “Practically Sold Out” of iPad Minis, but Doesn’t Provide Number (Updated)

AllThingsD.com

So how many iPad minis did Apple sell over the weekend? We still don’t know.

Apple says it sold three million iPads since Friday, when its new iPad mini and iPad 4 went on sale. But it isn’t breaking out its sales by model.

Apple goes on to compare the three million number to the 1.5 million New iPads/iPad 3s it sold over that model’s first weekend, back in March.

But it’s not clear what, exactly, Apple is comparing.

If I’m reading the release correctly, Apple is saying it sold three million units of its entire iPad product line, including older models, over the last weekend. Not sure that it makes sense to compare that to new product sales from March. I’ve asked for clarification.

(Update: That three million number is only for the two new models — the iPad mini and the iPad 4 — says Apple rep Natalie Kerris. So that makes the March comparison more apt. And investors seem fine with it: They’re pushed shares up 1.5 percent in the first 15 minutes of trading this morning.)

Still, Apple wants to make it clear that it is happy with mini sales. CEO Tim Cook describes demand as “incredible,” and the company says “demand for iPad mini exceeded the initial supply.”

Apple bull Gene Munster had predicted one million to 1.5 million iPad minis sold over the first three days.

Here’s the full text:

Apple Sells Three Million iPads in Three Days
Wi-Fi Only Models of New iPad mini & Fourth Generation iPad Double Previous First Weekend Sales

CUPERTINO, California — November 5, 2012 — Apple® today announced it has sold three million iPads in just three days since the launch of its new iPad® mini and fourth generation iPad—double the previous first weekend milestone of 1.5 million Wi-Fi only models sold for the third generation iPad in March. The Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of both iPad mini and fourth generation iPad will ship in a few weeks in the US and in many more countries later this year.

“Customers around the world love the new iPad mini and fourth generation iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”

The new iPad mini features a stunning 7.9-inch Multi-Touch™ display, FaceTime® HD and iSight® cameras, ultrafast wireless performance* and an incredible 10 hours of battery life**. The new fourth generation iPad features a gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina™ display, new Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and ultrafast wireless performance.

Both iPad mini and the new fourth generation iPad with Retina display are available in 34 countries including the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and the UK, and will be available in many more countries later this year, including mainland China. Demand for iPad mini exceeded the initial supply and while many of the pre-orders have been shipped to customers, some are scheduled to be shipped later this month.

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I think the NSA has a job to do and we need the NSA. But as (physicist) Robert Oppenheimer said, “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you’ve had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”

— Phil Zimmerman, PGP inventor and Silent Circle co-founder, in an interview with Om Malik