Apple launched the iPhone 4S with Siri 15 years ago today

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the launch of the iPhone 4S, introducing Siri as a built-in feature to the iPhone for the first time.

The iPhone 4S went on sale on October 14, 2011, ten days after its announcement. It was initially launched in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, retaining the glass and stainless steel design of the iPhone 4 while introducing substantial internal improvements.

The device’s defining addition was Siri, which allowed users to make calls, send messages, create reminders, schedule appointments, and ask questions in natural language. Apple highlighted the Assistant’s ability to interpret requests in context, such as understanding that a question about the need for an umbrella was a request for a weather forecast.

‌Siri‌ was initially launched in beta, supporting localized English for the US, UK and Australia, as well as French and German. The Assistant was exclusive to the iPhone 4S, so owners of older iPhones couldn’t access it simply by installing iOS 5.

‌Siri‌ already existed as a standalone iPhone app, launching in February 2010. Apple acquired the company in April of that year before integrating its technology directly into iOS. Following the announcement of the iPhone 4S, Apple removed the original app from the App Store and informed existing users that its service would stop working on October 15.

Beyond ‌Siri‌, the iPhone 4S introduced Apple’s dual-core A5 chip, which it said offered up to twice the processor performance and seven times the graphics performance of the iPhone 4. Its rear camera increased from five to eight megapixels, with an f/2.4 aperture and support for 1080p video recording. A revised antenna system could switch between antennas for transmit and receive, while the maximum supported HSDPA download speeds have doubled to 14.4 Mbps.

The iPhone 4S ships with iOS 5, available two days earlier alongside iCloud. The software update introduced iMessage, Notification Center and Reminders, as well as over-the-air software updates and on-device setup.

Available in black and white, the iPhone 4S was available in 16 GB, 32 GB, and a new 64 GB configuration. Prices in the United States started at $199, $299, and $399, respectively, with a two-year qualifying carrier contract. Apple then announced that it sold more than four million units in its first three days of availability, more than double the opening sales of the iPhone 4 over the same period.