Sprint Sells Out of Its Cheapest iPhone 4S

Sprint said Monday that it has sold out of its cheapest iPhone 4S phones, as demand for Apple's latest smartphone ramps up.

Furthermore, Sprint is not taking backorders, so if the iPhone 4S isn't available for Sprint itself, customers won't apparently be allowed to buy them.

"16GB iPhone 4S in white and black is sold out for pre-order from Sprint," a Sprint spokesman said in an emailed statement on Monday. "We do have the 32GB and 64 GB versions, as well as the 8 GB iPhone 4, available in both colors at this time. It is important to note that Sprint is not taking backorders of our iPhone devices. Sprint is committed to delivering devices to our pre-order customers on or very near the time of launch and also making these devices available for purchase on launch day – Friday, October 14. Apple and other carriers may continue to take pre-orders that will be delivered to the customer at a later time."

Interestingly, Sprint's note is in line with our PCMag.com poll, which predicted that Sprint would be the most popular carrier for the new iPhone 4S.

Apple's 16GB iPhone 4S device is selling for $199.99, the 32GB is $299.99, and the 64GB is $399.99, all with a two-year service contract. An unlocked iPhone 4S is available for $649 for the 16-Gbyte model, $749 for the 32-GB version, and $849 for the 64-Gbyte model. Although the phone essentially looks the same as the iPhone 4, a new improved antenna design should eliminate Antennagate or "death grip" issues, and the Siri voice recognition technology is being lauded as a standout feature.

Sprint's news comes as a hungry market snaps up Apple's new iPhone. On Friday, AT&T reported that it had rung up more than 200,000 preorders in the first 12 hours that the phone went on sale, making it its most successful iPhone launch ever.

And, over the weekend, Apple's online store indicated that it too was sold out of the new iPhone 4S. Apple has since updated its online store to indicate that customers preordering the new smartphone – as of this article's writing – can expect their devices to be shipped in anywhere from one to two weeks.

On Monday, Apple announced that it took in more than one million preorders for the iPhone 4S in seven countries last Friday, making it the fastest-selling iPhone ever. In comparison, Apple sold just over 600,000 preorders for the iPhone 4 last year. That's left some speculating that the iPhone 4S could be the most successful Apple iPhone launch ever. To put that into context of another popular Apple device, Apple received 500,000 pre-orders for the iPad.

The iPhone 4S goes on sale on October 14. For more on the device, see PCMag's hands on.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

US and Canadian mobile networks
Mobile phones released in the US
iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
Mobile hotspots
Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services.

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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