Apple loves to break its own records, especially when it comes to iPhone sales. Last year, Apple sold 10 million iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units during the opening weekend of sales, and this year, many were skeptical as to whether Apple could outdo itself again. After the first weekend of sales, however, Apple announced that it sold 13 million iPhone 6S and 6S Plus units in three days.
It’s an astonishing number of iPhones, especially considering that this is an S year, and the differences between the 6S and last year’s iPhone 6 are relatively minimal. Of course, those who didn’t upgrade last year may have decided to do so this time around, and the camera upgrades were undoubtedly appealing to iPhone users. Also, the fact that China was one of Apple’s initial launch partners may have boosted sales.
“Sales for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Customers’ feedback is incredible and they are loving 3D Touch and Live Photos, and we can’t wait to bring iPhone 6S and iPhone 6s Plus to customers in even more countries on October 9.”
Both of the new iPhones will arrive in another 40+ countries on October 9 including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, and Taiwan. One day later, on October 10, Apple will launch the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. By October 16, the new iPhones will be available in India, Malaysia, and Turkey. Apple intends to have the new iPhones on sale in more than 130 countries before the end of 2015.
The addition of so many countries in the last few months before the close of 2015 will certainly boost iPhone 6S and 6S Plus sales worldwide. It will be interesting to see how high the sales figures rise, and how they compare to last year’s numbers. If you’re interesting in getting one yourself, check out our iPhone 6S and 6S Plus buying guide.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.