Apple has set a new records through iPhone 4S sales, which they say have exceeded 4 million over the first three days the device was on sale. The newest installment in the iPhone series went on sale for the general public on October 14.
Tavis McCourt, an analyst with Morgan, Keegan, and Co., predicted that sales would reach 27 million in sales worldwide this quarter. “This certainly puts them on a pace for a strong quarter of sales,” said McCourt. “This iPhone had some significant upgrades in terms of user experience and it had been 15 months since the last iPhone update.”
The massive increase in sales was, in part, caused by Sprint Nextel, which recently earned the rights to sell the iPhone. Sprint is the 3rd largest carrier in the nation, and and recently received the rights from Apple to join Verizon and AT&T, the largest and 2nd largest, respectively, in offering the smartphone.
The iPhone was already the most popular smartphone on the market. This remains so despite the market surge of competing devices running Google’s Android operating system. Apple hopes the 4S will be on sale in 70 countries by the end of 2011. Samsung, whose popular Galaxy S II smartphone sold 10 million units after 5 months, has waged a battle to halt iPhone sales in Japan and Australia on the grounds of patent infringement.
The launch of the iPhone 4S is the first major venture undertaken by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who took the reigns at apple following the recent demise of Steve Jobs.