On Friday, Apple’s “most amazing iPhone yet” went up for pre-sale on apple.com as well as all three carriers’ sites – AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. And what do you know, it sold like hotcakes.
Are you surprised?
Some wondered how the brand new iPhone 4S would sell right out of the gate, considering the backlash regarding the big unveiling on October 4th. If you remember, it was widely expected that Apple would launch an iPhone 5 this year, and many hoped that it would be a massive redesign. Instead they got an iPhone 4S with some upgrades on the inside (A5 processor, 8 MP camera, Siri) – but no change on the outside,
But apparently that doesn’t matter, because people forgot one simple fact – it’s a new Apple product. And it looks like the iPhone 4S has sold its pre-order stock in a way befitting any Apple device.
Apple announced this morning that pre-orders of the iPhone 4S topped 1 million in just one day. This blows the previous sales record of 600K for the iPhone 4 out of the water.
“We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.”
And here’s the consequence of that excitement – iPhone 4S stock is running low.
- On Apple.com, all 3 models (16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB) say that they will ship in 1-2 weeks.
- Over at Sprint, the 16 GB iPhone 4S is listed as sold out. The other two are still available for pre-order.
- On Verizon, you can expect all three models (black or white) to deliver on October 21st (one week after the phone officially hits stores).
- Finally, with AT&T, every version of the iPhone 4S currently ships in 3-4 weeks.
So it looks like the iPhone 4S disappointment hasn’t really been a factor. The pre-orders suggest that Apple has another massive hit on their hands.
Remember, if you can’t pre-order the 4S that you want, you can always get in line at your local Apple store. The device will go on sale at 8 am local time this Friday, October 14th. If you choose to camp out, make sure you check your town’s laws regarding urban campfires.