3-4 million flocked to Apple stores around the world looking to get their hands on iPhone 4S at the weekend as new rumours emerge about iPhone 6.
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| Is this the next iPhone? |
iPhone 4S is now the ultimate Apple record breaker – selling an estimated 3-4 million units on its debut weekend.
From Sydney to London and San Francisco, queues lined up to get their hands on what was thought to be Steve Jobs last major project before his death, although now apparently this may not be the case.
Having seen the device briefly, 4S looks identical to the iPhone 4 but we hope to get a hands on review of the cult device in the coming days.
In Apple’s Sydney Store on George St, at 6pm on Friday evening, 10 hours before the shop first opened, queues were still lined up right around the block.
Lucky Aussies were among the first in the world to get their hands on the device – for a change.
Several lined up on George St admitted the purchase was associated with iPhone creator Jobs’ shock passing, a week earlier.
By 4pm on Friday afternoon here, Telstra had announced it had sold out of the handsets having opened its nationwide stores at 8am also.
In San Francisco on Apple’s home turf, a massive queue formed at the Union Square store where customers were given bagels and energy drinks as they waited and in London a human tunnel was formed by Apple staff for waiting customers.
Apple is estimated to have sold between 3 and 4 million of the new handsets over the weekend – and the company’s shares on Friday hit a record US$422 million, a gain of 14% on the week re-establishing it as the world’s most valuable business, with a market capitalisation of US$391 billion, compared to Exxon Mobil’s $379 bn.
The iPhone 4 sold 1.7 million in its first weekend of sale last year.
And let’s not forget iPhone 4S has yet to roll out to 22 more countries including Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore and much of Eastern Europe.
However, as consumers get their head and voice (hello Siri) around 4S, iPhone 6 is already been talked about once again.
It appears iPhone 5 is not longer on the cards as 4S was Apple’s 5th gen device, reports Cnet, citing analyst information.
4S was a “cult classic” as “was the last project that Steve Jobs was intimately involved with from concept to final design. For that reason…this product will establish the high water mark for iPhone volumes,” analyst Ashok Kumar, Rodman & Renshaw, wrote in a research note this week.
4G enabled 6 will involve a major redesign with a thinner body, larger screen but with similar dimensions as iPhone 4S, thus may sport a edge-to-edge screen, Kumar believes.
 iPhone 4S |
He is also giving a summer 2012 launch date, after Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
Cnet also cites another source in the report, who claimed to have knowledge of the redesign for ‘6’ and says it was masterminded by Steve Jobs himself.
“[The next iPhone is a] complete redesign. This is a very large project that Steve dedicated all of his time to. He was not that involved in the 4S because his time was limited,” the source indicated.
It is possible iPhone 6 project is well underway or even complete already since Apple knew Jobs was dying before it launched iPhone S on October 4th and notified local Police days in advance, fearing a mass gathering outside Jobs’ Palo Alto residence.
Apple’s revered CEO passed away the next day, October 5th, just after 4S saw the light of day (and is the ‘S’ a tribute to Steve?).
It is very possible Apple decided as a tribute and mark of respect to its leader to hold off on ‘iPhone 5’ as it was thought to have been called.
Other stories have also suggested Jobs left a four years worth of plans and blueprints for iPad, iPhone and computers.
So, now iPhone 4S is here, let the ‘6’ rumours begin.
Read iT’s A Sell Out! iPhone 4S Smash ALL Records
Read iPhone 4S: Why Topless Virgins Are Best
