iPhone 4S: US carriers unable to keep up with demand

By Trevor Mogg November 17, 2011

When it was unveiled more than a month ago, the iPhone 4S was met with disappointment in some quarters, largely because it wasn’t an iPhone 5. Many people had been hoping for a design overhaul, but were given something that looked the same. This time, all the changes were under the hood. While some said it wouldn’t sell, others went out and started buying it. And they’re still buying it.

The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Bensinger reported on Thursday that, more than a month since the 4S was released, the major wireless carriers in the US are having difficulty keeping pace with demand.

Those entering Verizon and AT&T stores on the hunt for Apple’s latest mobile phone device are being told they’ll have to wait around three weeks. Sprint’s wait time is only marginally better, currently at around two weeks.

In what will be music to the ears of Apple executives, AT&T’s president of emerging devices, Glenn Lurie, told the WSJ, “We are having some supply issues in the sense that demand’s huge,” adding, “We have had just record-breaking sales on it.”

Verizon’s Brenda Raney noted that demand for the 4S shows no sign of abating. “Not only was the iPhone 4S popular when it was introduced, but the popularity continues to build,” she said.

Apple’s new chief executive Tim Cook said recently that he believes the current quarter will see a new record set for iPhone sales. That’s not hard to believe, considering in its first weekend alone more than four million units were sold.

The news that US carriers are struggling to keep up with demand comes in the same week that a survey showed the iPhone had replaced the BlackBerry as the phone of choice among business users.

The apparent healthy sales of the 4S does beg the question though – if an all-new iPhone 5 does come out next year, how many 4S owners would seriously be tempted to dump their phone for the new model after such a short time? Only then will Apple’s pulling power be truly put to the test.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

This one Apple Fitness feature completely changed how I exercise

Someone holding an iPhone with the Apple Fitness app open, showing the Custom Plans feature.

I have a confession to make: I'm not good at sticking to a workout routine. I love running, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), strength training, etc. In the moment of those exercises and in the post-workout euphoria, I feel amazing. But when it comes to waking up early in the morning to do these things before work? Well, that's where I really struggle.

This has been a problem for a while now. I go to bed with the goal of waking up early and going to the gym, but as I groggily open my eyes to snooze the alarm on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, I end up falling back asleep. And I've been repeating this over and over and over again.

Mobile

Best refurbished iPhone deals: Get an iPhone 14 for $513

An iPhone 13 in white color option.

The Apple iPhone is one of the best phones on the market, and because of it they don’t often come cheap. There are some great iPhone deals out there, but it’s rare to find significant discounts on newer models without having to commit to a longterm contract with a carrier, and it’s even less frequent you come across one of the best iPhones with a major price drop. This is where shopping refurbished can come in handy. Refurbished iPhones — for the most part — will come backed with a functionality guarantee or extended return window, making refurbished iPhones as safe of a purchase as shopping new. There are a lot of refurbished iPhone models seeing great price drops right now, which is why we’ve done the heavy lifting of rounding up all of the best refurbished iPhone deals. You’ll find them below, as well as some information on which refurbished iPhone might be best for you.
iPhone XR -- from $136

A refurbished model but one that's unlocked and comes with a full one-year warranty, the Apple iPhone XR is still pretty stylish for its age. It has a large 6.1-inch LCD screen with 1,792 x 828 resolution with Liquid Retina technology ensuring it looks super sharp. Powered by the A12 Bionic chip, it's starting to show its age but still has potential. There's also a 12MP back camera that can shoot 4K videos while the front-facing camera is 7MP and ideal for selfie-taking.

Mobile

Nomad’s new iPhone case and Apple Watch band may be its coolest yet

Nomad Glow 2.0 Sport Case and Apple Watch Sport Band in daylight.

Though the world of Apple accessories is a dime a dozen, one of the better brands that you can buy is Nomad. Nomad has a variety of amazing leather Apple Watch bands and cases, as well as non-leather options, too. In August 2023, Nomad released a one-of-a-kind Glow in the Dark Apple Watch band that sold out in about 12 hours.

Since that Glow in the Dark band was a limited edition, no one was sure if Nomad was going to re-release it, and this explains the high resale prices you’ll find on eBay. But Nomad just released the Glow 2.0 Apple Watch Sport Band as well as a new Glow 2.0 Sport Case for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. And, yes, they're just as wonderful as before.
The new and improved Glow 2.0