Apple confirms 5 million iPhone 5 sales in first weekend, 100 million devices updated to iOS 6

Selling more than 2 million units in its first 24 hours available on preorder, Apple announced today that it has seen more than 5 million iPhone 5 sales over its first weekend (three days) of general availability, slightly beating the 4 million iPhone 4S sales it recorded in October 2011.

Apple also shared that it has seen more than 100 million devices updated to its new iOS 6 software, which launched last week and came in for criticism over its new Maps application.

“Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”

Analysts had been quick to forecast more than 10 million sales in the first weekend, which may lead some to be slightly disappointed with Apple’s announcement today.

However,with more than 400 million iOS devices activated, the company has seen more than a quarter of devices updated to iOS 6 in under a week.

Last week, Apple was quick to share that demand exceeded supply in terms of initial preorders, alerting customers that while early orders would still ship on September 21, many would reach doorsteps in October.

Last Friday, it only took an hour for Apple’s website to reflect shipping delays, with delivery estimates slipping to between ’2 – 3 weeks’ in all of the seven launch countries. Since then, the delay on shipments has been pushed back to between 3 – 4 weeks.

The 5 million figure is derived from sales in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. On September 28, Apple will launch the iPhone 5 in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.