AppleInsider Staff
It appears Apple's supply chain is making significant progress in catching up with demand, as all non-128GB iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models now show ship-by times of three to five days, while 5K Retina iMacs are listed as ready to ship in one to two weeks.
A quick check with the Online Apple Store confirms 16GB and 64GB iPhone 6 and 6 Plus versions in all colors are available to ship in 3-5 business days. Interestingly, all 128GB variants are showing slower 7 to 10 day ship-by dates, suggesting a shortage of high-capacity memory modules.
Certain models are also available for in-store pickup at select Apple Store locations, though customers should check Apple's online storefront for current stock status.
A November stock check saw staggered ship times for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, with the smaller 4.7-inch version pegged at 5 to 7 days, and 7 to 10 day estimates for the phablet.
Apple is showing steady progress toward reaching an iPhone 6 supply and demand equilibrium after falling woefully behind just hours after launch. The new 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus was most affected by low supply yields, though analysis in November found sales of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 outpaced Apple's phablet three-to-one.
As for the new 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display, ship times now stand at 1 to 2 weeks, up from 3 to 5 weeks last month. After Apple took the wraps off its ultra high-resolution all-in-one in October, demand quickly outstripped supply and the computer has seen delayed shipping ever since.
For those looking for faster delivery and savings, AppleInsider has teamed with Apple Authorized Reseller Adorama for a limited-time promotion that offers $50 off 5K Retina iMacs with 3-Year AppleCare Protection Plan (and no tax in 48 states). Prices on all configurations can be found in AppleInsider's Mac+AppleCare Price Guide , a portion of which is included below.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
William Gallagher
5 Comments
Hmmm, well they might be catching up as far as their stores/shipments are concerned, but the carriers are not. A quick check shows the following for a SG 128 6+:
Apple - 7-10 business days
Verizon - "available" 12/19 - but no dates for shipment after that
Sprint - 2-3 weeks
T-Mobile - 6-8 weeks
AT&T - 21-28 business days
Really varied times. One has to wonder if it is the carrier not ordering enough, or Apple holding back.
The iMac part of this story is what I find most interesting. I ordered my BTO 5k iMac right away and I didn't experience too much of a delay. I have the impression that Apple had adequate stock on hand at launch to deal with the initial surge, but they underestimated the "steady state" level of demand. I find that to be very encouraging regarding the popularity of the 5k iMac. For purely selfish reasons I'd like to see desktop Macs do well, since I vastly prefer desktops to laptops and I want Apple to continue investing in desktops. My preferred combo is a desktop Mac and an iPad. That's much more appealing to me than a laptop that I "dock" to a monitor/keyboard. To me, it's the laptop that is the awkward in-between device, not the iPad.
I don't expect my BTO iMac 5K i7 to ship from Adorama before January.
Not expecting my BTO iMac 5K i7 to ship from Adorama before January either - ordered 11/26 and status is still pending. Hopefully the order backlog eases some more so the resellers get stock. When I asked Adorama, this is the reply I got:
Unfortunately, the manufacturer is not providing us with an ETA of when to
expect this item, in turn, we cannot provide our customers with an ETA.
Yep - I was wrong again!
Message from Adorama (shipping UPS in 3 days):
Thanks for your order! Your order has been packed and has been assigned a tracking number(s). It will be shipped by the end of today.
Their web site showing items are packed awaiting shipment so looking for tracking updates later tonight and tomorrow.