Skip to main content

Apple: 4 million iPhone 4S units sold in first three days

apple-iphone-4s-white-black
Apple

In its latest PR move for the iPhone 4S, Apple announced today that more than 4 million units of its newest handset sold in the first three days after the device officially went on sale in the US and six international markets on Friday, October 14. The brisk sales of the iPhone 4S are more than double that of the iPhone 4, and break all previous iPhone sales records.

On top of sales of the iPhone 4S, the Cupertino, California-based electronics company also said that more than 25 million devices are now running iOS 5, Apple’s newest mobile operating system, which works on iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS, iPad and iPad 2, and the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. IOS 5 was released last Wednesday, two days before the iPhone 4S went on sale at a variety of retail locations. In addition, Apple says 20 million people are now signed-up for its new iCloud service, which allows users to sync content across all of their iDevices automatically.

“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” said Apple senior VP of product marketing Philip Schiller in a prepared statement. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.”

Apple is pushing hard this year to get word out that the iPhone 4S isn’t the dud some believed it would be. Earlier, the company announced that it sold more than 1 million iPhone 4S units during the first 24 hours after pre-orders for the device became available.

In the US, the iPhone 4S costs between $199 and $399, depending on size of internal storage, with the signing of a two-year contract with either AT&T, Verizon Wireless or Sprint, which was just added this year to the list of iPhone carriers. The iPhone 4S is currently available in the US, Canada, German, France, Japan, Australia and the UK. On October 28, the coveted handset will go on sale in an additional 22 countries, including Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. More than 70 countries will have the iPhone 4S by the end of 2011.

The iPhone 4S, which looks identical to last year’s iPhone 4, features a faster, dual-core processor, better 8-megapixel camera, and the highly-acclaimed Siri voice recognition assistant.

Update: Additional contextual details added at 11:45am ET

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
Best iPhone 14 deals: Unlocked and refurbished
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro's camera module

While the iPhone 15 may be Apple’s most recent iPhone release, that only makes the iPhone 14 a better way to save. The iPhone 14 isn’t far removed from being among the best phones on the market, and it’s still a powerhouse option for most smartphone users. There are a lot of ways to save on an iPhone 14, with shopping refurbished models being one of the best. You'll get a good warranty and a large return window shopping refurbished with most major retailers, which makes them some of the best iPhone 14 deals you'll find. With so many to take advantage of right now, we thought we’d do the heavy lifting and put all of the best iPhone 14 deals together in one place. Reading onward you’ll find some impressive savings on all models of the Apple iPhone 14.
Apple iPhone 14 -- from $479, was $699

With the Apple iPhone 14 you’re getting what is still one of the most popular smartphones on the market. This is the iPhone 14 model that’s meant for everyone. It holds back a few features you can only get on the Pro model, but it still has an impressive 6.1-inch display, an impressive camera, and dozens of ways to personalize your iOS experience with widgets and fonts. The phone can reach up to 26 hours of battery life on a single charge, and it’s powered by Apple’s A15 Bionic chip. Face ID, emergency SOS via satellite, and super fast 5G cellular connectivity round out the top features of the Apple iPhone 14.
Buy Refurbished at Amazon — from $479

Read more
How to turn off call forwarding on iPhone and Android
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus, showing the camera.

If you’re mysteriously missing calls on your iPhone or Android smartphone, it may be because call forwarding is activated on your line. In that case, all your incoming calls could be going somewhere else.

Call forwarding shouldn’t typically be active unless you’ve specifically turned it on, but another person or app may have done so without your knowledge. And since call forwarding is a carrier feature, it could still be enabled on a line you inherited from someone else, even if you’ve swapped their SIM card into your phone or transferred it to a new account.

Read more
iPhone 16: news, rumored price, release date, and more
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus and Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

We're more than six months removed from the launch of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, so you know what that means: iPhone 16 rumors are in full force. Talk is heating up about everything from design leaks and rumored specs to camera changes and more.

Read more