The record-setting iPhone 4S sellout: By the numbers

Apple fans race to get their hands on the new smartphone — even after many critics greeted it with disappointment

The iPhone 4S, presented by Apple VP Phil Schiller
(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

When Apple unveiled its new iPhone 4S last week, those who'd been hoping for an all-new, next-generation iPhone5 greeted the news with a collective "meh" of disappointment. But Apple addicts clearly disagree. When the 4S became available for pre-sale on Friday, fans snapped up more than a million in a record-breaking "frenzy" that quickly tapped Apple's supply of pre-order phones. Here, a brief guide, by the numbers:

More than 1,000,000

Number of iPhone 4S phones Apple sold on Friday, when online and telephone pre-orders became available. Why the huge number? The death of former CEO Steve Jobs surely pushed "the company to the forefront of the world's collective consciousness," says Andrew Nusca at ZD Net. And because the new phone's launch was delayed by several months, more customers are now eligible for an upgrade.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

600,000

Previous single-day pre-order record, held by the iPhone 4. Don't forget, says Jay Yarow at Business Insider, that the iPhone 4 might have done just as well as the iPhone 4S had the Apple site not crashed on last year's first pre-order day.

4

Number of days until the iPhone 4S becomes available in U.S. retail stores, at 8 a.m. on Friday, October 14

16

Number of months since the last iPhone came out

22

Number of additional countries in which the device will be available by the end of the month

74

Number of days it took Apple to sell one million units of the first iPhone in 2007

3

Number of days it took Apple to sell one million units of the iPhone 3GS in 2009

300,000

Number of iPads Apple sold on the first day the tablets went on sale in 2008

24 million

Number of iPhones Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu estimates that Apple will sell in the December quarter

Nearly 4

Amount, in percent, that Apple's stock was up in Monday trading

15

Amount, in percent, that Apple stock was up this year, prior to Monday's opening

Sources: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Business Insider, Google Finance, Wall Street Journal, ZD Net

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.