Apple Announces Over Two Million iPhone 5 Pre-Orders in First Day of Sales - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Announces Over Two Million iPhone 5 Pre-Orders in First Day of Sales

Following today's announcement by AT&T sharing word that the iPhone 5 has broken pre-order sales records at the carrier, Apple has issued a press release noting that it too saw record-breaking pre-orders of over two million units in the first 24 hours of availability. The performance breaks last year's record of one million iPhone 4S units pre-ordered on the first day of availability.

“iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we’ve ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do.”

iPhone 5 34Hi Stagger FrontBack Black PRINT
The iPhone 5 will be available beginning this Friday, September 21. The first pre-orders have begun shipping from China, but delivery companies will be coordinating to hold the shipments until Friday. Customers who did not pre-order the device have also begun lining up at a few Apple retail stores ahead of Friday's launch, although most of those seen so far are lining up for promotional purposes.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iphone duo

Apple Announces Foldable 'iPhone Duo'

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:56 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "iPhone Duo," a new kind of iPhone featuring two screens and a foldable inner display. The two halves of the iPhone Duo connect into a single continuous frame with the same aspect ratio across both displays, and Apple said the transition between open and closed is designed to feel fluid. When fully open, Apple says it is the thinnest iPhone ever made, with an...
Surprise and Shine Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, and More Expected

Wednesday September 9, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, new AirPods 5 earphones, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
apple surprise and shine event

Apple Event Today: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo Cheat Sheet

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:24 am PDT by
Apple's biggest event of the year is almost here, and all eyes are on Cupertino. With the first foldable iPhone expected to headline Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the rumor mill has been running full throttle, fuelled by the biggest single design change in the life of the iPhone. To get you up to speed, here's a quick reference...

Top Rated Comments

Menopause Avatar
182 months ago
2X CPU power
2X Graphics power
2X RAM
2X sales in the first 24 hours than last year to 2 million units

Ofcourse, as you know, Apple is doomed to hell and beyond for this innovation-less minor update.
Score: 69 Votes (Like | Disagree)
182 months ago
...It doesn't take a genius...
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BreuerEditor Avatar
182 months ago
I love when people write comments like "worst iPhone ever", "what were they thinking??" and "bye iPhone, hello S3" and then I hear news like this. Makes me smile :-)
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeekLawyer Avatar
182 months ago
Impressive. As always.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
182 months ago
Steve

Steve would definitely have allowed this!
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CosmoPilot Avatar
182 months ago
Few facts:
Apple is not going away!
Samsung is not going away!

Why do we constantly compare the two and spend countless hours debating which is better? I'm in the Apple camp and have made a conscious decision to this point. I'm happy for my Android loving friends...it's just not for me. Hardware/Software...which is better...who cares?

We are at a point in the smartphone world where incremental improves are the best we can expect. So it really boils down to user experience. My experience needs are different than the Android camps. I believe Apple is better positioned to improve the end users experience, but do I really care if Android users think? NO!

Not to start a flame war, but I do not lurk in the Android forums, but it seems their is a huge Android following in MRs...I wonder why?
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)