Some people wondered how well the iPhone 4S would sell, considering that it fell short of the much-anticipated iPhone 5. However, they needn’t have worried; a record-breaking one million iPhone 4S units sold in the first 24 hours, topping the iPhone 4’s all-time high of 600,000 sold on the first day. Some analysts even think that the 4S could sell an incredible 2 to 2.5 million units by the end of this weekend.
At the Fifth Avenue Apple store, which has nearly 300 employees (the most of any Apple store), fans were still lining up at the door a day after the iPhone 4S release to check out Apple’s newest offering in the smartphone market. Frazzled-looking employees directed traffic as hundreds of customers streamed in and out of the store’s iconic glass cube, which is currently under construction.
The Fifth Avenue store is usually crowded, but on Saturday night, the mood was one of cheerful, barely-controlled chaos. Throngs of customers huddled around iPhone 4S displays, waiting to get a turn with the new phone, while others shopped for iPods, iPads, laptops, and accessories. Below are some scenes from the Fifth Avenue store on Saturday evening.
Apple fans lined up outside the Fifth Avenue Apple store on Saturday evening, one day after the release of the much-anticipated iPhone 4S on Oct. 14. On opening night, hundreds of fans waited outside the store to get their hands on the iPhone 4S, many for over three hours, according to DNAinfo.com.
Customers streamed up and down the Fifth Avenue store's iconic winding glass staircase. Some tech fans had been skeptical of the 4S, disappointed it was not the long-hyped iPhone 5; nevertheless, these customers seemed plenty excited about the newest iPhone model.
Lines to purchase the iPhone 4S, and the requisite accessories like cases and headphones, snaked almost to the back of the store. Some customers read books---a low-tech choice amid a sea of iPads, iPhones and iPods---to pass the time.
Two Apple employees conferring on a transaction. The Fifth Avenue store is one of the few Apple stores to have a dedicated point-of-sale counter.
Benches in the Apple store overflowed with customers, some obsessing over their new iPhones, and others just looking ready to go home. This woman found her own seat away from the commotion.
Even if they weren't there to buy an iPhone 4S, hundreds of people like these lined up to try out one of the in-store models.
Two Apple fans played with an iPhone 4S sample model. Potential buyers could learn more about the 4S's specs via iPads attached to the table.
The Fifth Avenue store was a little messier than usual, with iPhone cases and headphones strewn across display tables as hundreds of customers rushed to accessorize their new phones.
It wasn't all about the iPhone 4S that night. Elsewhere in the store, huge crowds of people jockeyed to spend some time with other Apple products, such as this man checking out a MacBook Pro.