Sales of Apple iPhone 6s, 6s Plus likely to beat last year's record

Sales of Apple's new iPhones were on pace to beat the 10 million unit sales it logged during the first weekend of sales last year, the company said on Monday.

Apple did not disclose the specific number of preorders it received. Analysts had expected the company to log about 4.5 million preorders during the first 24 hours, in comparison with 4 million during the first day last year.

The company said demand for the iPhone 6S Plus, the larger phone, exceeded its forecasts for the preorder period.

The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus will begin shipping September 25.

The phones feature improved cameras and 3D touch, a display technology that responds differently depending on how hard users press their screens.

FBR Capital Markets senior analyst Daniel Ives said the preorders suggested a strong trajectory for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Ives said he was encouraged by the response in China, where Apple's website showed particularly long wait times for the phones.

"It shows that they are off to a white-hot start, with China really being front and center as a main driver of initial demand," he said.

The company's stock has sunk in recent weeks on concerns about how it will fare amid the downturn in the Chinese economy.

"Hopefully this can start to turn the negative tide that's been overhanging the stock," Ives said.

Last week Apple announced the phones, as well as a new TV set-top box that responds to voice commands, but the new products underwhelmed many social media commentators and investors.

The new phones come a year after Apple rolled out iPhones with larger screens, touching off a sales frenzy in which revenue in the latest quarter increased 32.5 per cent from a year earlier.