iPhone 5 preorders break 2M in 24 hours, shattering iPhone 4S record

After iPhone 5 preorders sold out on Apple’s website in one hour on Friday, I expected some impressive preorder figures. Apple this morning announced that the iPhone 5 surpassed 2 million pre-orders in its first 24 hours, blowing away the iPhone 4S’s record of 1 million preorders in the same time.

If you really wanted to land an iPhone 5 on release day, September 21, you had to get your preorder in early. Preorders from Apple’s website showed delayed shipments one hour after they were made available, and delays hit orders on carrier websites later on in the day. Your only choice now to get an iPhone at release is to line up at an Apple or carrier retail store.

AT&T also announced this morning that the iPhone 5 set new sales records, though as usual it didn’t give any specific figures.

As much as the the iPhone 5 impressed me when it was announced, I’m not in much of a rush to upgrade at this point. Partially, it’s because I can’t get discounted pricing from AT&T until October, but I’ll also be able to enjoy many of the software upgrades in iOS 6 on my iPhone 4S. Or maybe I’m just trying to soothe myself after missing out on a release day preorder.