Despite what IBM described as "special features ... to meet immediate data processing requirements and ... to absorb increased demands," the 1440 did not quite attain the same commercial success as the 1401,[2] and it was withdrawn on February 8, 1971.

Author Emerson Pugh wrote that the 1440 "did poorly in the marketplace because it was initially offered without the ability to attach magnetic tape units as well."

[3] The IBM 1441 processing unit (CPU) contained arithmetic and logic circuits and up to 16,000 alphanumeric storage positions.

In the 1960s, Polish ZOWAR (ZETO Warszawa) was officially the first customer for IBM in Poland after WWII, despite the Iron Curtain.

Prototype Workshop of the Center for Technology & Innovation (CT&I) in Binghamton, New York successfully resurrected a 1440 system including a CPU and console, a 1311 disk drive, and a 1442 card reader/punch.