Neil Hughes
Apple's online store was updated on Tuesday to reflect 24-hour shipping times for all capacities and colors for carrier-locked versions of the iPhone 5s in the U.S., though customers looking to buy an unlocked and unsubsidized handset must still wait a few days.
The iPhone 5s in 16-, 32- and 64-gigabyte capacities in color options space gray, gold, and silver are all advertised as available to ship within 24 hours. That applies to models compatible with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
Customers looking to buy a contract-free iPhone 5s with a T-Mobile SIM card must still wait one to three business days for their order to ship. And a SIM-free unlocked iPhone 5s has an advertised wait time of three to five business days.
Shipping times improving to 24 hours come as Apple has also reached full availability of the iPhone 5s at its retail stores in the U.S. Analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray has been polling Apple Stores around the country, and found that as of last week all models were completely in stock at all locations.
The new shipping times advertised on Apple's site reflect an improvement from the previous estimate of one to three days. That turnaround time was achieved just last week, reflecting massive improvements in availability sine the iPhone 5s first launched in September.
Since that launch, the iPhone 5s had faced supply constraints as Apple was reportedly affected by low yields of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Reports from Apple's supply chain suggested the company was having difficulty ramping up production to its usual levels.
Tuesday's updated shipping estimate serves as further evidence that Apple has caught up with demand for the iPhone 5s with just over two weeks to go before Christmas, meaning holiday shoppers should have little trouble getting their hands on the company's latest flagship smartphone in time for the holiday.
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
Sponsored Content
AppleInsider Staff
6 Comments
it will be interesting to see how shipping times change with 12/18 when the China Mobile roll-out starts....
Apple is doomed as no one is buying the new iPhones and inventory piles up in stores.
See how easy that was.
The situation in India is very bad. There is no stock since more than a month now! And nobody knows when the stocks will replenish. Not even Apple India is ready to say anything. They recently launched iPad Air, but they have no stock of a product that was launched a month ago!
The situation in India is very bad. There is no stock since more than a month now! And nobody knows when the stocks will replenish. Not even Apple India is ready to say anything. They recently launched iPad Air, but they have no stock of a product that was launched a month ago!
They could have up inventory in the US for the holiday at the expense of some international markets.
[quote name="davebarnes" url="/t/161119/iphone-5s-now-shipping-from-apples-online-store-within-24-hours#post_2444961"]Apple is doomed as no one is buying the new iPhones and inventory piles up in stores. See how easy that was. [/quote] I understand Apple is so desperate to sell the new iPhones that if you buy one Tim Cook will come to your town and buy you dinner