Sorry ‘GTA 5,’ Apple made more than $5.2 billion this weekend and sold 9 million iPhones

By Jeffrey Van Camp Published September 23, 2013

Grand Theft Auto V may have made entertainment history with $1 billion grossed in its first few days, but all it takes is an iPhone to show how to really move some money. In a press release, Apple revealed that it has already sold more than 9 million iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C smartphones from Friday to Sunday.

We don’t know precisely how much money Apple made, but during its last quarter, the company reported an average of $581 per iPhone sold. Multiplying that by the 9 million devices sold and we have an astounding $5,229,000,000. Yep, Apple likely pulled in at least $5.2 billion this weekend on the iPhone 5S and 5C combined.

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iPhone 5S outsold iPhone 5C by a factor of 3.4x this weekend.

This makes the iPhone 5S and 5C a much more successful launch than the iPhone 5 last year, which racked up a still-impressive 5 million in first-weekend sales. It appears that the combination of a second, cheaper, more colorful iPhone 5C; a more innovative flagship phone, the 5S; and a completely revamped iOS operating system have driven interest in the iPhone back to the record levels we used to expect with each new iPhone launch.

We noticed much longer lines for the iPhone this year. At an Apple store in mid-Michigan, there were only 3-6 people out of about 150 who intended to buy the new iPhone 5C. Most people in line were there to buy the more expensive iPhone 5S. This was likely spurred by Apple’s decision not to accept online pre-orders for the high-end iPhone 5S.

Our estimate of $5.2 billion may be a lot lower than what Apple hauled in. A lot of people in line at our store were ordering 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5S units, which cost $100 to $200 more than the standard 16GB $650 iPhone 5S (non-subsidized). A bulk of sales were likely made in Apple stores, which also brings in more money for Apple than phones sold at wireless carrier stores.

Localytics estimates that the iPhone 5S outsold the iPhone 5C by a factor of 3.4x this weekend. Don’t fret for the iPhone 5C though. It will likely sell in droves, but not to the type of people who need a phone on launch weekend and are willing to wait in the rain and dark to get it.

Finally, Apple revealed that iOS 7, which was released last Wednesday (Sept. 18), has been installed on more than 200 million devices already.

Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Deputy Editor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

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