Apple Could Sell As Many As 1 Million iPhone 5c In First-Day Preorders

The iPhone 5c, encased in plastic and available in white and four other bright colors, is priced starting at $99 in the U.S. with a two-year wireless contract. While it offers essentially the same features as last year’s iPhone 5, consumers seem attracted to the new color choices based on a read of customer sentiment on Twitter, said Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. Apple isn’t taking pre-orders for the higher-end iPhone 5s, also introduced this week.  Both the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s will be available in the U.S. and 10 other geographies, including Japan and China, starting Sept. 20.
“We believe people who followed tech closely and were interested in the announcement panned the 5c since it had minimal changes from the 5, but as more normal people became involved in the conversation, it appears that color matters to consumers and the 5C could be more popular among the total consumer base than some may have expected,” Munster said in an investor report today.

Apple typically announces the number of pre-orders, reporting that it sold 600,000 units of the iPhone 4, 1 million units of the 4S, and 2 million iPhone 5 smartphones in first-day sales. Here’s Munster’s overall take on iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c sales:

“If the 5S were available for pre-order, we believe the number would be closer to 2 million, essentially inline with the iPhone 5 pre-order total, which was for a redesigned phone with pent up demand. In other words, given the tough iPhone 5 comp, we see 1 million iPhone 5Cs or 2 million total for the 5S & 5C as respectable. We remain comfortable that Apple could sell 5-6 million 5S and 5C units in the launch weekend compared to 5 million iPhone 5s sold in last year’s launch (20% y/y growth). We believe that Apple could sell 8-9 million between September 20 (launch date) and the end of the month.”