More than two million iPhone 5 pre-orders were made in 24 hours, Apple has said.
The massive sales figures dwarf its own previous record of one million pre-orders for the iPhone 4S.
The device, which was announced last week, had been widely leaked ahead of the announcement and many commented upon its unveiling that it lacked the 'killer' new features seen in previous generations.
But customer demand appeared to be undimmed, and Apple said supplies would be limited in the run up to Christmas.
In the UK queues for the new device have already started ahead of its roll-out on Friday.
Charity campers Peter King, 19, Ryan Williams 22, both from Kent, are camping outside the Covent Garden Apple Store in London to raise money for Cancer Research UK by sleeping outside until its release.
"Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on September 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October," Apple said.
Apple execs said the response was "phenomenal".
"iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we've ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do."
