Despite negative sentiment, iPhone 4S breaks record with one million pre-orders in 24 hours

News media, investors, and Twitter users everywhere expressed feelings of being “underwhelmed” by the Apple 4S announcement last week, but that didn’t stop the latest iteration from having its best pre-order day ever, breaking the one-million pre-order mark in 24 hours for the first time in company history. The phone is identical to the iPhone 4 in appearance, but it’s now powered by a dual-core A5 chip, has an upgraded 8MP camera with improved optics, offers iOS 5 and iCloud, and introduces the personal-assistant software Siri. “We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.” Much of the success can be attributed to an increasing number of consumers who are embracing the act of pre-ordering popular products online as well as the addition of Sprint to the carrier mix, but the dramatic increase of nearly 65% over the iPhone 4 is a testament to the appeal of the brand.