More than 5 million iPhone 5s sold, Apple claims

Sept. 21, 2012: An Apple employee riles up his coworkers outside the Fifth Avenue Apple store to celebrate the release of the iPhone 5, in New York. Hundreds of people waited in line through the early morning to be among the first to get their hands on the highly anticipated phone. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Sept. 12, 2012: Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, speaks on stage during an introduction of the new iPhone 5 at an Apple event in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

CUPERTINO, Calif. – iCan hardly believe it!

The fruit company from California said Monday that it's sold more than 5 million new iPhone 5s in the three days since the latest smartphone was launched.

Apple said orders for the phone exceeded the initial supply it had available, something confirmed by several carriers and stores, which reported selling out over the weekend. The iPhone 5 went on sale Friday in the U.S., Australia and elsewhere.

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“Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date."

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"We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”

The new iPhone 5 will be available in 22 more countries this Friday and in more than 100 countries by the end of the year.

Apple says it has shipped most of the phones that were ordered in advance. But it plans to ship many of them in October.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.