Apple Sunset

iPhone 4s

Discontinued 9 Sept 2014

Released

14 Oct 2011

Announced

4 Oct 2011

Pre-orders opened

7 Oct 2011

Launch price from

$199

Discontinued

9 Sept 2014

Lifespan

2 years, 11 months

Category
iPhone
Status
Discontinued
Apple support status
Obsolete (Apple no longer services it)
Release type
Refresh of an existing model
Previous model
iPhone 4
Replaced by
iPhone 5
Official Apple page
No longer available on Apple’s website
Tech specs
Apple specs ↗
Press release
Apple Newsroom ↗
More information
iPhone 4s on Wikipedia ↗

Notes

The iPhone 4s looked exactly like the iPhone 4 before it and is remembered for two things that had nothing to do with its appearance. It introduced Siri, and it was the last Apple product Steve Jobs lived to see announced.

Apple unveiled it on 4 October 2011. Jobs died the following day. The event was also Tim Cook's first as chief executive, barely two months after taking the job, and the keynote was given without the man who had presented every iPhone before it.

Siri was the headline feature. Apple had bought the company behind it the year before, and the phone could now set reminders, send messages and answer questions when spoken to. It stayed exclusive to this model rather than reaching the iPhone 4 sold beside it, and Apple labelled it a beta for years afterwards.

The camera improved sharply. An 8 megapixel sensor replaced the 5 megapixel one, with a wider aperture to gather more light, and video recording moved up to full 1080p with stabilisation to smooth out a shaky hand.

The A5 chip had two processor cores rather than one, which Apple said doubled general speed and made graphics up to seven times faster.

It sold for $199 with 16GB, $299 with 32GB and $399 with 64GB, all needing a two-year contract. Apple cut the iPhone 4 to $99 the same day and gave the 3GS away free on contract.

It stayed in the range an unusually long time. The larger capacities went within a year or two, but Apple kept an 8GB model on sale until September 2014, by which point it was sharing shelf space with the much larger iPhone 6.

It was announced on 4 October 2011 at the 'Let's Talk iPhone' event, with pre-orders from 7 October, and reached customers on 14 October 2011 at $199.

iPhone release history

  1. 2026

  2. 18 Sept 2026

    iPhone 18 Pro LaunchCurrent

    iPhone 18 Pro Max LaunchCurrent

    iPhone 17 Pro Discontinued

    iPhone 17 Pro Max Discontinued

  3. ↑ about 1 year later
  4. 2025

  5. 19 Sept 2025

    iPhone 17 ReleasedCurrent

    iPhone 17 Pro Released

    iPhone 17 Pro Max Released

  6. 9 Sept 2025

    iPhone 15 Discontinued

    iPhone 16 Pro Discontinued

    iPhone 16 Pro Max Discontinued

  7. ↑ 7 months later

  8. 19 Feb 2025

    iPhone 14 Discontinued

  9. ↑ 5 months later
  10. 2024

  11. 20 Sept 2024

    iPhone 16 ReleasedCurrent

    iPhone 16 Pro Released

    iPhone 16 Pro Max Released

  12. 9 Sept 2024

    iPhone 13 Discontinued

    iPhone 15 Pro Discontinued

    iPhone 15 Pro Max Discontinued

  13. ↑ about 1 year later
  14. 2023

  15. 22 Sept 2023

    iPhone 15 Released

    iPhone 15 Pro Released

    iPhone 15 Pro Max Released

  16. 12 Sept 2023

    iPhone 12 Discontinued

    iPhone 13 mini Discontinued

    iPhone 14 Pro Discontinued

  17. ↑ about 1 year later
  18. 2022

  19. 16 Sept 2022

    iPhone 14 Released

    iPhone 14 Pro Released

  20. 7 Sept 2022

    iPhone 11 Discontinued

    iPhone 12 mini Discontinued

    iPhone 13 Pro Discontinued

    iPhone 13 Pro Max Discontinued

  21. ↑ about 1 year later
  22. 2021

  23. 24 Sept 2021

    iPhone 13 Released

    iPhone 13 mini Released

    iPhone 13 Pro Released

    iPhone 13 Pro Max Released

  24. 14 Sept 2021

    iPhone 12 Pro Discontinued

    iPhone 12 Pro Max Discontinued

    iPhone XR Discontinued

  25. ↑ 10 months later
  26. 2020

  27. 13 Nov 2020

    iPhone 12 mini Released

    iPhone 12 Pro Max Released

  28. 23 Oct 2020

    iPhone 12 Released

    iPhone 12 Pro Released

  29. 13 Oct 2020

    iPhone 11 Pro Discontinued

    iPhone 11 Pro Max Discontinued

  30. ↑ 6 months later

  31. 15 Apr 2020

    iPhone 8 Discontinued

    iPhone 8 Plus Discontinued

  32. ↑ 7 months later
  33. 2019

  34. 20 Sept 2019

    iPhone 11 Released

    iPhone 11 Pro Released

    iPhone 11 Pro Max Released

  35. 10 Sept 2019

    iPhone 7 Discontinued

    iPhone 7 Plus Discontinued

    iPhone XS Discontinued

    iPhone XS Max Discontinued

  36. ↑ 10 months later
  37. 2018

  38. 26 Oct 2018

    iPhone XR Released

  39. 21 Sept 2018

    iPhone XS Released

    iPhone XS Max Released

  40. 12 Sept 2018

    iPhone 6s Discontinued

    iPhone 6s Plus Discontinued

    iPhone X Discontinued

  41. ↑ 10 months later
  42. 2017

  43. 3 Nov 2017

    iPhone X Released

  44. 22 Sept 2017

    iPhone 8 Released

    iPhone 8 Plus Released

  45. ↑ about 1 year later
  46. 2016

  47. 16 Sept 2016

    iPhone 7 Released

    iPhone 7 Plus Released

  48. 7 Sept 2016

    iPhone 6 Discontinued

    iPhone 6 Plus Discontinued

  49. ↑ 6 months later

  50. 21 Mar 2016

    iPhone 5s Discontinued

  51. ↑ 6 months later
  52. 2015

  53. 25 Sept 2015

    iPhone 6s Released

    iPhone 6s Plus Released

  54. 9 Sept 2015

    iPhone 5c Discontinued

  55. ↑ about 1 year later
  56. 2014

  57. 19 Sept 2014

    iPhone 6 Released

    iPhone 6 Plus Released

  58. 9 Sept 2014

    iPhone 4s Discontinued

  59. ↑ about 1 year later
  60. 2013

  61. 20 Sept 2013

    iPhone 5c Released

    iPhone 5s Released

  62. 10 Sept 2013

    iPhone 4 Discontinued

    iPhone 5 Discontinued

  63. ↑ about 1 year later
  64. 2012

  65. 21 Sept 2012

    iPhone 5 Released

  66. 12 Sept 2012

    iPhone 3GS Discontinued

  67. ↑ about 1 year later
  68. 2011

  69. 14 Oct 2011

    iPhone 4s Released

  70. ↑ 1 year, 4 months later
  71. 2010

  72. 24 Jun 2010

    iPhone 4 Released

  73. 7 Jun 2010

    iPhone 3G Discontinued

  74. ↑ about 1 year later
  75. 2009

  76. 19 Jun 2009

    iPhone 3GS Released

  77. ↑ about 1 year later
  78. 2008

  79. 11 Jul 2008

    iPhone 3G Released

    iPhone Discontinued

  80. ↑ about 1 year later
  81. 2007

  82. 29 Jun 2007

    iPhone Launch

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