Sales of iPhone X begin: Can Apple live up to the hype?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple's iPhone X went on sale today, as the company scrambles to meet demand for a marquee device that sports a lush screen, facial-recognition skills and a $1,000 price tag.

Most analysts have predicted Apple won't be able to catch up with demand until early next year.

But the company is optimistic. "As we approach the holiday season, we expect it to be our biggest quarter ever," CEO Tim Cook told Wall Street analysts Thursday. He added the company is increasing its iPhone X production capacity every week.

Apple is now giving delivery times of three to four weeks, down from five to six weeks, for those ordering online. Lines formed outside stores in New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Milan, Italy, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, among others, as customers came to pick up orders or to grab one of the limited numbers available for same-day sales today.

Shares rose 2.8 percent to $172.89 in midday trading.

Apple had said Thursday that iPhone sales rose 3 percent, to 46.7 million, in the July-September quarter, a period that saw the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus come out in the final weeks. Sales could have been higher if many customers hadn't been waiting for the iPhone X.

As with recent quarters, one of the main sources of Apple's growth is coming from its services, which are anchored by an app store that feeds the iPhone and other devices.

Revenue in that division surged 34 percent to $8.5 billion during the July-September period. All told, Apple earned $10.7 billion on revenue of $52.6 billion, compared with a $9 billion profit on revenue of $46.9 billion a year earlier.