* Analysts expect first-weekend sales of 12 mln-13 mln
* iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales seen getting China boost
* New camera draws praise from fans
(Adds details, quotes, updates share price)
By Julia Love, Siddharth Cavale and Pauline Askin
SAN FRANCISCO/SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The iPhone 6s and
6s Plus hit stores around the world on Friday, at the start of
what is expected to be a record weekend for sales of Apple Inc's
AAPL.O marquee product.
Eager buyers - joined by at least one robot - flocked to
Apple stores from Sydney to New York, itching to get their hands
on new models boasting a 3D touch feature and an improved
camera.
"The first thing I'm going to do is take a picture," said
Lithuanian student Justina Siciunaite, 25, the first of hundreds
to emerge with an iPhone 6s from Apple's flagship store on New
York's Fifth Avenue.
Analysts expect 12 million to 13 million phones to fly off
the shelves in the first weekend, up from more than 10 million
last year when the launch of the hugely successful iPhone 6 was
delayed in China, the world's biggest smartphone market.
Apple, whose shares were up less than 1 percent in morning
trading, has said pre-orders suggested sales were on pace to
beat last year's first-weekend performance.
Among the first to pick up the new iPhone 6s in a cold,
rainy Sydney was a telepresence robot named Lucy, operated by
marketing executive Lucy Kelly.
"I obviously have my work and other things to attend to and
can't spend two days lining up so my boss at work suggested I
take one of the robots down and use it to stand in my place,"
she said, via an iPad mounted on top of the wheeled robot.
After a dramatic redesign last year, which included an
enlarged screen and the addition of mobile payments, the iPhone
6s and 6s Plus boast more modest improvements.
The phones, which are the same size as last year's models,
feature 3D touch, a display technology based on a "Taptic
Engine" that responds according to how hard users press their
screens.
However, several reviewers have said the new features might
not be compelling enough to persuade iPhone 6 users to upgrade.
"You might not feel the usual pull to get a new iPhone
unless you really want a better front-facing camera," Nilay
Patel of The Verge said in a review published on Tuesday. (http://bit.ly/1iutQKj)
Apple has said just a fraction of its customers have
upgraded to the iPhone 6, suggesting there is room to grow.
More important than customer appetite for upgrades is the
iPhone's "proliferation" outside the United States, particularly
in China, said Aaron Rakers, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
PRETTY IN ROSE-GOLD
Hundreds gathered outside the Apple store in downtown San
Francisco. Among them was pink-haired software developer Jo
Engo, 37, who has lobbied Apple leaders past and present for a
phone in his favorite color.
"I have emailed not only Steve Jobs but Tim Cook," Engo said
outside the store. "I'm so excited they're finally doing it."
Phones in rose-gold - an approximation of pink - proved
popular at stores in New York and San Francisco.
FBR Capital Markets senior analyst Daniel Ives said the
color was a "major selling point."
Repair firm iFixit, which opened up an iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
on Friday, said battery capacity was down "a bit", probably to
accommodate the Taptic Engine. Apple has said battery life is
unchanged in the new phones. (http://bit.ly/1OxY5xs)
The new iPhones use chips made by, among others, Qualcomm
Inc QCOM.O , Avago Technologies Ltd AVGO.O , Qorvo Inc's
QRVO.O TriQuint Semiconductor and RF Micro Devices, Texas
Instruments Inc TXN.O and Skyworks Solutions Inc SWKS.O .
Shares of audio chipmaker Cirrus Logic Inc CRUS.O jumped
more than 17 percent after iFixit's tear-down revealed that
Apple had used its chips, as it did in previous iPhones.
The iPhone 6s also houses NAND flash memory chips made by
Toshiba Corp 6502.T , while the iPhone 6 used memory chips made
by SanDisk Corp SNDK.O .
Lackluster offerings this year from Samsung Electronics Co
Ltd 005930.KS will help Apple stand out in the marketplace,
said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. He
said he expected the 6s to eclipse the 6 "over the long haul."
The 6s and 6s Plus start at $199 and $299 respectively with
a two-year service-provider contract.