Just hours after pre-orders began, shipping estimates for new iPhone 4S orders placed through Apple's online stores in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the UK have slipped to 1-2 weeks from the initial "by October 14th" estimate. Shipping estimates through Apple remain at October 14th in the United States, while the company is not offering online sales in Japan.
Current shipping estimates in Apple's Canadian online store
Apple and its carrier partners began pre-orders around midnight Pacific Time, although Apple's and AT&T's sites didn't come up for orders until about 40 minutes after the scheduled launch time. And even after pre-orders came up on Apple's site, users had significant difficulty getting through. Much of the bottleneck appeared to be related to verifying eligibility and plans through AT&T, with the purchasing process repeatedly hanging and resulting in errors for many users.
iPhone 4S reservation issued due to problems with carrier processing
Apple eventually shut down its iPhone pre-order system for a brief period of time, bringing it back up to issue reservations that would allow users to return later to verify eligibility and select their service plans. Apple has begun notifying users who placed early reservations that they may now return to apple.com to complete their orders, and that they must complete the process by 5:00 PM Pacific Time tomorrow in order maintain their priority order status.
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors.
Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report.
iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design
The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too.
2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple didn't update the...
Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years.
iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack)
At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.
The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM.
...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
I thought people didn't like the 4S. What happened?
Read the comments: lots of people with iPhone 3s are updating. Their plan cycle is up and they are stepping up to the latest & greatest available from Apple. Had it been an iPhone 5, they would be doing this too... not because a "5" is necessarily better than a "4s" but just because it was time for an update and this is the latest iPhone available. If Apple had said "no new iPhone this year; we're sticking with the 4 (inside & out)" I suspect many of these same iPhone 3 people would still upgrade anyway to a "4" as it is just a natural outcome of their contracts ending.
I think the griping and "not liking it" is a lot of people with expectations of major design updates every year fueled by the delay by several additional months beyond the "normal" launch time and the usual hype-a-rama machine of rumors. And some of these are "4" owners who don't care about cost inefficiencies and/or extended contract terms from renewing hardware before the normal contract term cycle.
Personally, I think Apple should have called this one a "5" as I suspect a lot of the gripes were attached to an idea of a name (number). Sure, if it was branded the "5" the gripes would have been that it looks exactly the same as a "4". But those needing to brag about owning the latest gadget could have got their "5" instead of having to emphasize the "S" in 4s.
Functionally, it has the latest & greatest guts available from Apple. Yes, the rumored bigger screen was an interesting possibility and a new body shape would help those who need to brag show they have a "5" without having to say they have a "5". But otherwise, Apple took the latest horsepower & guts they have and put them in the same shell with the same-sized screen. The braggers will just have to emphasize the "S" or wait out the next iPhone. For those that care about their spending, maybe the next one will arrive right about the time their 2-year deal on the "4" is about to end, so they can do what these "3" people are doing and not waste extra money for their next upgrade?
IMO, it was a waste to wake up early this morning (2:45 EDT), I couldn't get my order in through Apple due to ATT's FAN premier site being down. That along with the fact that Apple was delayed 43 minutes in opening up the store, I went back to bed. Woke up this morning and got my order in on the Apple site within two minutes. Got a confirmation email and not one of those bogus reserve ones. Never staying up again. :)
Mines coming between the 21st-28th, so excited! Got in there before the Shipping Estimates went up, which they inevitably will.
All the people complaining about the new iPhone 4S, this is the biggest spec bump the iPhone has ever seen.
iPhone 2G+3G = 400Mhz Processor + 128MB RAM + 2MP Camera iPhone 3GS = 600Mhz Processor + 256MB of RAM + 3MP Camera iPhone 4 = 800Mhz Processor + 512MB of RAM + 5MP Camera iPhone 4S = 2 x 800Mhz Cores + (Supposedly) 1GB of RAM + 8MP Camera
This is the biggest leap in the iPhones specs ever. If it was in a new different case, most of the complainers here would be crapping themselves in giddy excitement as they trip over each over in the stampede to buy it.
The £600 ($930) price tag for the 32GB stung a little bit though, but I wanted the extra space for the bigger file sized pictures and 1080p video.
