In spite of some of the disappointment expressed about the iPhone 4S, Apple's fifth-gen smartphone is on track to becoming its fastest-selling device of all time, a report from The Next Web said.
The iPhone is now available on three carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and for the first time, Sprint. Pre-orders for the device kicked off on Friday, and the newest iPhone is already sold out on the Apple site. AT&T has already logged more than 200,000 iPhone 4S orders, which makes it AT&T's most successful iPhone launch ever.
Other carriers, retail partners, and Apple itself haven't released order numbers yet, but The Next Web noted that even without that data, Apple has already racked up a third of the number of pre-orders placed for the iPhone 4 (600,000).
In the first three days of availability, Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s. The Next Web speculated that Apple will handily squash that number by the end of this weekend.
To put that into context of another popular Apple device, Apple received 500,000 pre-orders for the iPad.
The iPhone 4S looks the exact same as the iPhone 4 from the outside, but Apple has completely revamped the inside of the phone, adding a dual-core A5 processor, souped-up camera, fully-integrated Siri voice controls, and iOS 5.
There are a few factors that could have helped boost sales of the iPhone 4S. First, Apple waited a bit longer than usual to announce the newest generation device. The company generally sticks to an annual product update cycle, but in this case, it waited three months longer to announce the iPhone 4S.
Perhaps more significant is the passing of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The Apple co-founder died Wednesday. He was 56.
As soon as the news of his untimely death broke, Apple fans and rushed to Apple Stores to pay tribute. Some are speculating that his death has caused a spike in sales of Apple products, but Apple has not released any data.
The iPhone 4S goes on sale on October 14. For more on the device, see PCMag's hands on.