back to article Apple: 4m iPhone 4S handsets sold, thank you very much

Apple sold 4m iPhone 4S handsets this past Friday and over the weekend, it claimed today. That meets the expectations of the more bullish market watchers forecasting sales on Friday. That's in addition to the 25m folk who downloaded iOS 5 for existing iDevices, Apple said. Well, those who were eventually able to upgrade to …

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  1. Silverburn
    Facepalm

    iCloud...

    ....is SHIT.

    There. I said it. Downvote me all you like, but you know it's true.

    Witness the forehead-slapping lunacy that is iWorks integration...*some* integration with iDevices (as long as you don't want folders or other non-iWorks formats). Out the box, there's diddly-f*ing-squat integration with iWorks on the Mac. Seriously - give it a go. You'll see what I mean.

    Seriously...they couldn't make iWorks on the Mac work with iCloud. And iCloud is meant to be *better* ??? It's a bloody beta at best.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      it is, but it's also very very pretty and simple, suddenly the great unwashed may start using online calenders?

      But really, only 2 gigs of space, no real document integration (with office live you get nice cut down versions of excel and word that do well for on the fly use) you can't upload to it directly, etc etc. however it is sleek. Very apple, just take a handful of things normal people do and polish, then polish again and, again.

  2. John Lilburne

    Relationships?

    Is there any relationship with this el reg article?

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/10/17/national_id_fraud_prevention_week/

    1. Ted 3

      I see what you did there...

      But you do realise that the article you link to is about 4 million *Brits*. This article you are commenting on is about 4 million iPhone purchase *worldwide*.

      The UK is not the world.

    2. andreas koch
      Joke

      @ John Lilburne

      No relation at all. El reg uses the same word filter algorithm as 4chan, only with '4million' instead of 'over 9000!'.

      In reality it was 14 ID-theft victims and 31 sold iPhones.

      Ever typed 'food processor' in a Register forum? If you don't spell it like 'w_o_m_a_n', I bet it gets changed as well .

      111!!1111!!1!!11!

  3. jubtastic1

    18.7 Petabytes

    Just for iOS 5 downloads over three days. That's a lot of bits.

  4. Alistair MacRae

    Yeah I bought one...

    Okay I bought one. My old iPhone 3GS was dying and my stuffs to integrated in iTunes to simply change phones.

    I ordered one through 3 and had it on release day I didn't fancy being around all those creepy people in the queues.

    The main thing that swung it for me was the SIRI integration but then after testing it out its somewhat disappointing. What they didn’t make clear is, unless you live in the US you can't use the mapping functions E.g. "where's the nearest restaurant?". Plus the UK voice is this sarcastic sounding man who makes me feel inferior.

    Other than that it seems like a nice enough phone coming from the 3GS. The camera takes nice photos and the anti-shake thing they did with the gyro seems to work pretty well

    1. OrsonX

      sarcastic sounding man

      Really? Is there no voice choice? I have to say I would be quite irked to be expecting dulcet female tones (like in the demo vids) and then get some sarcastic bloke! That really is quite off putting!

    2. Steve Evans

      Siri

      Go on, have a laugh, tell it to call you and ambulance.

      No prizes for guessing what happens ;-)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "Sir, you're an ambulance."?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "You are an ambulance?"

    3. Audrey S. Thackeray

      My old iPhone 3GS was dying

      "My old iPhone 3GS was dying"

      What is wrong with it out of interest?

    4. David Webb

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTg00wIijNY <-- the real voice of Siri.

  5. Paul 75

    Another story...

    ...on this day "Survey: '4 million' Brits stung by ID theft"

    Coincidence? I think not!

  6. dittytwo
    Angel

    4 Million sold and 4 million identity thefts

    right so 4million Brits had identity thefts this year and apple sold 4 million products coincidence I think not...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Claimed being the operative word of course

    As we only have Apples word on this. And we know how hype works, you tell overone you sold 4m phones, and more people buy phones and before long nobody really knows (or cares anymore) if they did or didn't...

    Nobody I know is even vaugely interested in the iPhone4s, but a few are waiting for the new Samsung Nexus. I hope we get minute by minute BBC news updates of the launch....

    1. Chad H.
      Thumb Down

      What you're suggesting there Barry is called "Misleading the Market" and stock exchanges aren't too fond of that occuring; I think financial regluators also find it quite distasteful.

    2. LPF
      FAIL

      @Barry

      Seriously barry , taking a straw poll out of you and your two mates , is nothing special!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Stop

        Seriously

        I don't know anyone out of the many people that I do know that is even remotely interested in getting the iPwn 4S. If they wanted one, they already have an iPhone 4 and are pretty happy with that.

        I seriously do doubt the veracity of any figure that comes out of a marketing department that cannot be independently verified.

        1. ThomH

          It's the earnings call tomorrow

          So Apple's plan, if the 4m is inaccurate, is to hope nobody mentions the press release from today, to admit they were lying or to commit a federal offence by providing false answers to shareholders.

          To suggest that Apple are lying is therefore stupid. To up vote others for suggesting it is to show yourself to be so biased as to be incapable of rational thought. Attacking them on subjective grounds - that they charge too much, that their handset is the wrong shape, that they put their customers at a disadvantage by vetting apps according to ill-defined criteria, etc - is one thing, spouting easily disproven conspiracy theories is quite another.

        2. cloudgazer

          @skelband

          So you seriously doubt Google's activation numbers which are unaudited, unlike Apple's iPhone sales figures I might add.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Thumb Up

            Yes

            See above, for the same reason.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Considering Steve Ballmer

    ability to predict the future ("The iPhone has no hope of gaining a true foothold in the cellphone marketplace") I wish he would predict I was going to win it big in the lottery, live to 100 and start growing back some of the hair I lost.

    But one an up note for Microsoft and their plan to take back the cell phone market - they announced they sold a phone this week.

    I know it is not nice to kick someone when they are down - but some people just ask for it.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ID Theft ?

    You don't have to sign up to iCloud... I don't think you do ?

    One think not explicitly mentioned - Siri needs the network (WiFi or 3G) to work... not always available though it does apologise quite nicely. If you want a nicer voice, just pretend to be Australian or from the USA... I have no idea why Apple thinks people from the UK want a stern male voice...

    BBM vs iMessage - I have no idea which one is better...

  10. jai

    worrying

    this just proves to Apple that it's worth delaying their releases. Expect the iPhone5 not to be released until October 2013 now, and they'll be selling 8m on the first weekend

    1. chr0m4t1c

      Not really, Apple said that they sold 2.4m iPhones less in the two months leading up to the 4S launch, suggesting the rumour mill just encouraged people to wait a bit - they said the overall figures for the quarter were as expected i.e. those 2.4m people didn't buy something else.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I don't get it.

    O2 - 24 month contract, about £27 a month and you get an S2 free.

    Vodaphone, same thing, but you have to fork out nearly £240 extra for the 4s.

    Am I the only one thinking that 4 million people have more money than sense in these supposedly austere times?

    1. Mike G
      Facepalm

      There at least 4million hairdressers/ boy band wannabees/ cocktail bar posers that have to have the latest iPhony before the next weekend to post essential xfactor facebook updates. Their lives would be a shallow trough of skinny jeans and flacid hair gel without an up to the minute shiny hipster prat badge to radiate their elite hipness.

      1. hexx

        I'd say there's lot of ppl who have had iPhone 3GS on a 2 year contract which ran out just in time for new phone.

    2. LPF
      Thumb Up

      @Michelle...

      Its becuase 4m peeps dont want cheap korean knockoff ;)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Wish I could upvote that twice it's so true :)

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Alistair MacRae

    "Okay I bought one. My old iPhone 3GS was dying and my stuffs to (sic) integrated in iTunes to simply change phones."

    Stallman was right ;)

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nice ball and chain

    The iphone4(or 4s) looks clean, sharp (unfortunately in both senses of the word), and immediately usable looking, interface fluid as hot oil, etc, etc.

    Now, since dependance on itunes (one of the laggiest piece of sw to "grace" windowsland) was not enough, it comes with a cloud solution that is platform specific, forming another leash. (other cloud solutions are pretty much os agnostic, and also "just work")

    Let them enjoy the benefits of Apple's nice walled garden. Pray they never need to stray outside, where there be dragons (like free exchange support, open api's etc etc).

    1. ThomH

      Fact check

      iTunes is not required for the 4S or any iOS 5 handset. iCloud is accessible from any web browser.

  14. LarsG

    I SIT HERE IN MY CHAIR

    stroking my new iPhone 4S. Ooooooooooh oooooooooh oooooooooooh aaaaaaaa ooooooooooh uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

  15. Stu J
    Stop

    Fucking sheep with more money than sense

    That is all.

    1. Bill B

      Well, whatever passes the time, stu, but was the sheep consensual to the act?

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Admit it Fanbois

    The Android mob are as every bit as sad as the Apple crew

    both types of device work pretty well as advertised.

    Personally, my HTC Sensation far more jerky and tempermental than the iPhone 4 I had previously. I also comes with far too much crapware than is needed.

    But, I get better reception at home that the iPhone.(same network)

    Swings and roundabouts then?

  17. andreas koch
    Coat

    Dataplan

    Looking at this:

    http://www.reghardware.com/2011/10/10/iphone_4s_tariffs_compared/

    I get the feeling that most network providers will get rich. Only Three offers a flat rate, and seeing that SIRI does all the processing on the far end* I expect a lot of traffic if you want to use the cool new function. Oh, and probably also the iCloud photography/ video; cool, I can take hundreds of hires pics with my new iPhone and they turn up just like that on my iPad (dataplan?), iMac (dataplan?), MacBook (dataplan?) ... And no, the wifi isn't all that much of an alternative. It's a mobile phone, not a hang-around-at-Starbucks-while-trying-to-make-SIRI-look-for-a-cafe phone.

    I expect a few guys will have to default on their mortgage at the end of the first month.

    iCannot afford that.

    *(it's not really a voice recognition software at all, you know? Apple built a giant call center in Bangladesh, Skypes your call through the web and each person that answers you after googling your question has their voice run through Autotune. )

    Mine's the one with the iPatched elbows...

  18. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    Dying iPhone 3GS - There's an App for that.

    There're local blokes here (in eastern Canada, I'm sure elsewhere...) that will swap-in a brand new battery for $40-50 (aftermarket or "OEM"). They've figured out how to crack open the case without ruining it, etc. They can also replace worn-out buttons and cracked screens.

    No need to replace an Iphone if the one you have just needs some cheap repairs.

    PS: They do the repairs while you wait and watch. 30-45 minutes in and out.

  19. Robert E A Harvey

    Ignoring the other issues, handling 4 million of anything in 3 days is impressive

  20. Stuart Elliott
    Joke

    Coincidence Much?

    Survey: '4 million' Brits stung by ID theft - two articles away...

    Apple: 4m iPhone 4S handsets sold, thank you very much: Kerrching!

    Things that make you go.. Hmm..

  21. Grease Monkey Silver badge

    Apple also need to realise that sales on day one do not mean you have a good product. Smartphones are one of those markets where some people have to have the latest thing. No sensible buyer would buy something without knowing what it was, but 4 million idiots bought something without even reading a review. As such a good chunk of those 4 million phones will be out of use or sold on as soon as some other new smartphone hits the market.

    The real measure of whether the phone is any good will be how well it's selling after christmas.

    1. chr0m4t1c

      Erm

      Apple sold 16m iPhones in the last quarter of last year (up to the end of December) and 18m in the first quarter of this year (up to the end of March), does that make it a good product or a good phone or do we need to move the goalposts again in the light of the facts?

      If, as you suggest, all of these people are idiots, why is no-one else able to sell to them? Especially as Apple has topped the customer satisfaction charts for eight years in a row, they are clearly also easily pleased idiots

      Of course, it is also possible that we are so blinded by our own belief that they are only attracted to shiny things that we are missing something deeper. Is that possible, do you think?

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