The new Apple iPhone 4S, the latest smartphone from the Cupertino tech giant, has broken all previous iPhone pre-order records after having registered over a million pre-orders in its first 24 hours.

The handset - heralded by some as a disappointment, after many pundits expected the launch of Apple's next-generation iPhone 5 at Apple's 'Let's Talk iPhone' event last week - has smashed the previous record held by iPhone 4, which registered 600,000 pre-orders within the first 24 hours of its launch, reports the Wall Street Journal.

“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," said Senior VP, World Wide Product Marketing , Philip Schiller.

Executives from AT&T and Verizon were also pleased with reception that the iPhone 4S has received despite an ‘underwhelming’ launch. Sprint has also reported healthy pre-orders. A Verizon spokesperson said that executives were “pleased with the sales and the ordering process."

In the UK, O2 customers might be the first ones to get their existing iPhones upgraded as O2 was the first carrier in the UK to launch the iPhone, and nearly 38 per cent of O2 customers have owned their Apple device for about 18 months, according to The Daily Mail.