Apple said Monday that pre-orders for its new iPhones set for release this month are on a pace to top last year's record for new handsets. "Customer response to iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world," Apple said in an emailed statement. "We are on pace to beat last year's 10 million unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale September 25."
The statement said online orders have been "exceptionally strong and exceeded our own forecasts for the preorder period." The company added: "We are working to catch up as quickly as we can, and we will have iPhone 6s Plus as well as iPhone 6s units available at Apple retail stores when they open next Friday."