iPhone Sales

Two new models on the market led to sales of some 55.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter last year, according to analysts' estimates.

Apple is officially reporting its Q4 results on Jan. 27. Meanwhile, some 27 professional and 17 amateur Apple analysts have weighed in with their projections of sales during the period. According to Fortune, there's not a huge amount of variation among the estimates: The range is 50 million to 59.73 million.

It's not unusual for Apple to break an iPhone sales record in its Q1 — it has done so every Q1 since 2010. Breaking into the 50-million range is new territory for Apple, though. In its fiscal Q1 in 2013, Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones. However, at that time, Apple only had one new iPhone model — the iPhone 5 — for sale. In the most recent quarter, Apple offered the iPhone 5C and the higher-end iPhone 5S. Both models were introduced in September.

In its fiscal fourth quarter, which coincides with the calendar third quarter, Apple reported selling 33.8 mililion iPhones. The perceived strong sales for Apple have prompted analysts to fret that Samsung's results were impacted in the quarter, sending the company's stock price down earlier this month. Samsung's Galaxy S4 is the second- or third best-selling smartphone next to the two iPhone models, according to estimates.

Though Apple's fiscal Q2 tends to be weaker than the previous quarter, Apple began selling its iPhone via China Mobile this month, a carrier with some 700 million customers. As of last week, Apple had already sold "millions" of iPhones through China Mobile, according to China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua.