Skip to main content

iPhone 4 still selling well despite the iPhone 5 release looming

white iphoneAre you counting down the days until the next iPhone is released so you can buy Apple’s latest and greatest phone to date? A new report shows that the impending iPhone release isn’t hurting sales of the iPhone 4 as much as originally predicted. With the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs being the two most popular phones on the market, sales have dipped prior to the rumored October launch, but analysts are predicting Apple will sell 18.5 million phones.

In Apple’s record-breaking third quarter of 2011, it sold 20.34 million phones. Due to the impending release of the next-generation iPhone, analysts predicted that Apple’s phone sales could drop to 15.7 million units. These predictions include expectations of huge sales once the new phone arrives, showing just how poorly experts expected iPhone 4 sales to be during this period.

If the latest rumors are true, it appears that Apple will introduce a lower-cost version of the iPhone 4 to replace the iPhone 3GS as the budget iPhone. Even with all the issues that plagued the launch of the iPhone 4, it is expected to remain one of the best-selling phones on the market.

With the recent release of the Droid Bionic on Verizon, and the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy S II on all major carriers, the iPhone 5 will have some stiff competition. Don’t forget the next Nexus device running on Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as the next generation of Windows Phone 7 devices  also expected to be released around the time of the iPhone 5. If you on the market for a new smartphone, all the choices could either be a blessing or a curse.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Dunn
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mike graduated from University of Arizona with a degree in poetry, and made his big break by writing love sonnets to the…
Don’t buy a Galaxy S24 Ultra or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Do this instead
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Mint Green color along with a Samsung notebook and a cermaic bowl with lemons.

“Do I need all that?” That’s the question on the mind of shoppers before they splurge a now-standard $1,000 asking price for a top-tier phone in 2024. Ideally, that dilemma should be there. The likes of Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max have won laurels for a handful of standout features they offer. But you might not need those standout features at all.

I’ve been on that road, and more frequently than I have the temerity to admit. For some reason, regret comes as part of the $1,200 flagship parcel. That's unless your phone is a part of your creative or work process, or you just don’t care and only want the latest and greatest for the vanity of it. A segment like that certainly exists, but that affluent user base doesn’t dictate the journey of a product.

Read more
I’m a lifelong iPhone user. Here’s what I think about the Samsung Galaxy S24
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and S Pen stylus on its screen.

Samsung and Apple typically release new smartphones at different times of the year. Samsung usually does it early in the year, while Apple waits until the fall ahead of the holiday shopping season. As always, Apple tends to release new iPhones that outdo the ones Samsung released earlier, and then when the calendar changes, Samsung comes back with something to better compete with Apple, and so forth.

Samsung has recently announced its Galaxy S24 series, which has sparked the curiosity of iPhone owners like myself. Many of us are currently exploring the features of these phones and seeing which ones aren't available on our iPhones, myself included. Some are entirely new, while others have been introduced on previous Samsung Galaxy S models. Although many seem promising, some may not be as appealing to iPhone users. Here are a few of the Galaxy S24 features I like — and a few I don't.
Circle to Search looks impressive
Circle to Search Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
You won’t believe how I improved my phone’s battery life
The back of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, resting against a post.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Sorry for using that tired old clickbait headline, but in a roundabout way, it’s true. You genuinely won’t believe that I’m about to tell you something so headbangingly obvious about smartphone batteries.

Read more