Apple Sells 3 Million iPads In One Weekend (Again)

Friday saw the launch of Apple’s iPad 4 along with the iPad Mini, and in the few short days since the company’s new tablets launched sales have already broken the 3 million mark.

“Customers around the world love the new iPad Mini and fourth generation iPad,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. “We set a new launch weekend record and practically sold out of iPad Minis. We’re working hard to build more quickly to meet the incredible demand.”

Apple didn’t share the specific sales numbers of each of its new iPad models but the company did point out that both iPads matched the number of sales of the company’s third-generation iPad, which also pulled in 3 million in its first weekend on sale.

Despite no hard sales data to go over, analyst Brian White with Topeka Capital Markets figures that the iPad Mini is Apple’s most popular model.

“During our exit Survey in New York City, we found the 16GB iPad Mini was the most popular of the three models, accounting for 53% of respondents, followed by 26% for 32GB and 21% for 64GB,” White said in an email to clients (via Computer World). “One of the reasons that consumers are interested in the iPad Mini is [to get] a quality iPad experience but at a lower price point, which naturally drives the strongest demand for the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini.”

The latest numbers may lump the iPad 4 and the new iPad Mini together to match the iPad 3, but Apple notes that the iPad 3’s sales combined the Wi-Fi only version with the 4G. Had the 4G iPad 4 and iPad Mini been available at launch over the weekend, sales would likely be quite a bit higher.

The launch of the 4G iPad 4 and iPad Mini was expected later on this month, but Apple didn’t provide a firm release date along with today’s news, only saying that the 4G version will be in the hands of consumers within “a few weeks.”