China Unicom's 100,000 iPhone 4s Insufficient for Pre-Order Demand

113342 china unicom iphone 4

IDG News Service reports that China Unicom has sold out of its initial shipment of nearly 100,000 iPhone 4s in the four days since the device launched in that country. With the company having taken 200,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4, the carrier has been unable to meet demand and has stopped taking new online reservations as it awaits a second shipment due to arrive by the end of the week.

The massive demand for the product outpaces last year's official launch of the iPhone 3G and 3GS in China. During that period, it had taken over a month before China Unicom had announced it sold 100,000 iPhone units.

The iPhone 4 was officially launched in China last Saturday, with the popularity of the device causing retail outlets in the country to sell out of the product.

While a launch performance of 100,000 units is far short of the 1.7 million handsets shipped on the iPhone 4's initial launch weekend in the U.S. and four other countries in late June, it still marks a substantial improvement over earlier launches in the country.

The report also notes that China Unicom has announced that it has 10 million 3G users, compared to 150 million subscribers on its 2G network. That data indicates that China Unicom's customers are only beginning to move to the more advanced 3G network and handsets such as the iPhone, but with its 3G subscriber base growing by nearly 12% in August alone, China Unicom appears poised to experience an explosion in the adoption of the iPhone and other data-intensive smartphones.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3

Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
iPhone 16e Bottom Crop

Apple Reportedly Unveiling a New iPhone Next Week

Tuesday February 10, 2026 1:51 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report said the iPhone 17e will be announced in a press release on the Apple Newsroom website, so do not expect an event for this device specifically. The iPhone 17e will be a spec-bumped successor to the iPhone 16e. Rumors claim the device will have four key...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Acquires New Database App

Wednesday February 11, 2026 6:44 am PST by
Apple acquired Canadian graph database company Kuzu last year, it has emerged. The acquisition, spotted by AppleInsider, was completed in October 2025 for an undisclosed sum. The company's website was subsequently taken down and its Github repository was archived, as is commonplace for Apple acquisitions. Kuzu was "an embedded graph database built for query speed, scalability, and easy of ...