Apple Store now quoting improved iPhone 5s ship times at 1-2 weeks

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
In an update to its online storefronts on Monday, Apple is now quoting iPhone 5s wait times at one to two weeks, shaving a few days off its previous estimates as the company's supply chain continues ramp up.

iPhone 5s


As noted by MacRumors, every country with an Online Apple Store is showing the same "1-2 weeks" availability for the popular iPhone 5s, which quickly saw demand outstrip supply just hours after launching in September.

In under two days, Apple exhausted initial supply of its flagship handset, including pricey 64GB options, pushing shipments out to "October." Near the middle of last month, the Apple offered a more specific shipment window at
two to three weeks
, though some models were still hard to come by.

While the iPhone 5s is apparently selling well, the lower-priced iPhone 5c is purportedly not seeing the same amount of success. According to a pair of reports published last week, Apple has cut orders of the device from supplier Pegatron. It is unclear if the rumors are correct, however, as a contradictory report said Apple was actually adding suppliers for the plastic-backed iPhone.

Combined, Apple sold a record-breaking nine million iPhone 5s and 5c units in the devices' first three days on sale. The Sept. 20 launch was the first time Apple debuted two new handsets in the same refresh cycle.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    Improved supply chain or less demand? Which seems more obvious?
  • Reply 2 of 19
    right before holiday season...? Probably improved supply chain
  • Reply 3 of 19
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    Improved supply chain or less demand? Which seems more obvious?

    Improved supply chain is the answer from anyone who isn't paid by Sammy.
  • Reply 4 of 19
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member

    According to some rumors the iPad mini with retina will go on sale in just a few hours...

  • Reply 5 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post





    Improved supply chain is the answer from anyone who isn't paid by Sammy.

    You have nothing to back up that statement.I stood in line at my local Apple store the week after the 5s was released and left with three of them no problem. Same with the iPad Air. I've yet to see anyone with a 5c. 

     

    It's fairly clear even based on reports on this site that lines aren't nearly as long as they were for previous iPhones and iPads. People can only update so often they aren't going to update every time a new model is released. Has nothing to do with Samsung or the foolish statements about Samsung shills on the forum. 

  • Reply 6 of 19
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    atlapple wrote: »
    You have nothing to back up that statement.I stood in line at my local Apple store the week after the 5s was released and left with three of them no problem. Same with the iPad Air. I've yet to see anyone with a 5c. 

    It's fairly clear even based on reports on this site that lines aren't nearly as long as they were for previous iPhones and iPads. People can only update so often they aren't going to update every time a new model is released. Has nothing to do with Samsung or the foolish statements about Samsung shills on the forum. 

    So your local Apple store is the only place people can buy iPhones?
  • Reply 7 of 19
    Originally Posted by jobsonmyface View Post

    Improved supply chain or less demand? Which seems more obvious?

     

    Trick question, you pathetic failure. 

  • Reply 8 of 19
    akqiesakqies Posts: 768member
    atlapple wrote: »
    You have nothing to back up that statement.I stood in line at my local Apple store the week after the 5s was released and left with three of them no problem. Same with the iPad Air. I've yet to see anyone with a 5c. 

    It's fairly clear even based on reports on this site that lines aren't nearly as long as they were for previous iPhones and iPads. People can only update so often they aren't going to update every time a new model is released. Has nothing to do with Samsung or the foolish statements about Samsung shills on the forum. 

    If only there was some evidence of Apple's distribution network growing and Apple's YoY revenue and profits growing.
  • Reply 9 of 19
    akqies wrote: »
    If only there was some evidence of Apple's distribution network growing and Apple's YoY revenue and profits growing.

    Mixpanel shows imcreasing uptake of 5s with steady uptake of 5c. mixpanel <.> com/trends/#report/iphone_models

    The one week slowdown was to fill the supply chain for international launch.
  • Reply 10 of 19

    Just as a point of reference: I ordered an unlocked T-Mobile, Gold iPhone 5S, 64GB, on October 30. The estimated delivery time was Nov. 22 to Nov. 29. It arrived today--about two weeks earlier than originally scheduled.

     

    I have heard the the Gold, 64GB, unlocked T-Mobile phones were among the shortest in supply. 

  • Reply 11 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    While the iPhone 5s is apparently selling well, the lower-priced iPhone 5c is purportedly not seeing the same amount of success. According to a pair of reports published last week, Apple has cut orders of the device from supplier Pegatron. 

    I have seen more of the iPhone 5c out there than the 5s. Never thought that I would see so many. 

  • Reply 12 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AtlApple View Post

     

    You have nothing to back up that statement.I stood in line at my local Apple store the week after the 5s was released and left with three of them no problem. Same with the iPad Air. I've yet to see anyone with a 5c. 

     

    It's fairly clear even based on reports on this site that lines aren't nearly as long as they were for previous iPhones and iPads. People can only update so often they aren't going to update every time a new model is released. Has nothing to do with Samsung or the foolish statements about Samsung shills on the forum. 


     

    I'll talk to my own experience. I ordered Gold 64GB Sept 23rd and received an email this past Thursday that it shipped. So yes, there is a serious backorder problem. I ordered from AT&T. Others who have ordered from Apple said they are receiving phones earlier, which is to be expected. When I had Apple and AT&T on the phone trying to find out where my phone was at, Noel from Apple told me that AT&T orders directly from the manufacturer. When they placed the original order, they did not order enough, and Gold was not available to them. When they ordered to fill backorders, Apple was talking most all of the supply available. My AT&T store would have a few phones in, but again, never the Gold. Yield issues with the Touch ID was part of the early problems, and the huge demand for the Gold being the other. My local AT&T store said they had lines around the building, and were as busy as pervious years. I don't know anyone personally having a 5s, but having the 5c, so stories are different from location to location.

     

    Probably when these phones get into the hands of as many people that want them, that will reinvigorates the excitement. 

  • Reply 13 of 19
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member
    Anyone who continues to insist that the 5S and 5C are not selling well is flat out wrong.

    These are hit products. They are denting Android market share globally.

    These new iPhones are experiencing record sales compared to the models they replaced.

    Please bookmark this and other pages to remind the posters.

    It's an Apple 2014.
  • Reply 14 of 19

    but it is still very slow

  • Reply 15 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Richard Getz View Post

     

     

    I'll talk to my own experience. I ordered Gold 64GB Sept 23rd and received an email this past Thursday that it shipped. So yes, there is a serious backorder problem. I ordered from AT&T. Others who have ordered from Apple said they are receiving phones earlier, which is to be expected. When I had Apple and AT&T on the phone trying to find out where my phone was at, Noel from Apple told me that AT&T orders directly from the manufacturer. When they placed the original order, they did not order enough, and Gold was not available to them. When they ordered to fill backorders, Apple was talking most all of the supply available. My AT&T store would have a few phones in, but again, never the Gold. Yield issues with the Touch ID was part of the early problems, and the huge demand for the Gold being the other. My local AT&T store said they had lines around the building, and were as busy as pervious years. I don't know anyone personally having a 5s, but having the 5c, so stories are different from location to location.

     

    Probably when these phones get into the hands of as many people that want them, that will reinvigorates the excitement.


    Again, Apple first day  release to the largest set of consumer markets is likely the cause of this.   Apple is Apple's biggest customer, and adding China to the day 1 release schedule creates a more consistent demand.  In the past, grey marketers were buying as many as they could in the markets they were released in, and shipping them to china and india for resale.   But they were all english (or german or whatever) packaging, which were more singular supply chains, and allows smaller markets in 1st world countries to get more phones as the supply chains normalized.   In the case above.  Apple's own store was the usual suspect for grey marketeer to get phones fastest, drop ship them directly to their place of reshipment and in the end, was sucking $600 phones into a $1000 phone grey market pipeline more efficiently than cash bearing mules at the Apple Store in Manhattan or WoodField Mall.

     

    Releasing more languages requires a more complex supply chain up front with more local limits being built (coupled with the release of 2 distinct new phones), but faster smoothing, as you don't have the massive grey market demand in one language dampening demand in other markets.  So my assessment is that these normally late release markets are now optimized, and Apple can ship a more 'level' demand to all markets and resellers.

     

    The 5c is an interesting anomaly in all this... my guess is that it's now picking up in demand as the holiday buying kicks in...  So releasing it at the time it did allowed Apple to ramp it up as well in relatively low levels working out supply chain of a 2nd new line, and allow it to level out in time for the next 6 weeks, which should make all the 'pick a color' advertising adverts next week... with a Gold 5s set off to the side in the 'yes, we got gold too!'

     

    In all, we should be amazed that Apple can release 2 new phones to the largest set of markets, then a month (and a 1/2) later release 2 new iPads, and they are meeting demand within 2 weeks for the casual shopper and having product in store for the impulse buyer, maintaining a multi-continent supply and distribution chain....  it truly is amazing secret sauce.

  • Reply 16 of 19
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AtlApple View Post

     

    You have nothing to back up that statement.I stood in line at my local Apple store the week after the 5s was released and left with three of them no problem. Same with the iPad Air. I've yet to see anyone with a 5c. 

     

    It's fairly clear even based on reports on this site that lines aren't nearly as long as they were for previous iPhones and iPads. People can only update so often they aren't going to update every time a new model is released. Has nothing to do with Samsung or the foolish statements about Samsung shills on the forum. 


     

    If only we had sales figures for how many iPhones Apple sold in the 1st 3 days, to compare with previous launches and see if demand went up or down. If we knew, for example, than Apple sold 9,000,000+ iPhones the 1st 3 days, then we could definitely conclude that demand skyrocketed from the previous year, where they sold only 5 million (with even more countries at launch). Or, you know, every single supply chain and adoption metric available, that leaves no other conclusion that demand is the highest it's ever been- as well as supply. 

     

    But no, it's "fairly clear" that you're right, all we need to do is ignore every single available fact to come to that assertion. And you should take being accused of a Samsung Shill as a compliment- it implies you're at least getting paid for speaking nonsense, and pulling conclusions out of your ass that run directly opposed to all info. 

  • Reply 17 of 19
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff View Post

     

    Again, Apple first day  release to the largest set of consumer markets is likely the cause of this.   Apple is Apple's biggest customer, and adding China to the day 1 release schedule creates a more consistent demand.  In the past, grey marketers were buying as many as they could in the markets they were released in, and shipping them to china and india for resale.   But they were all english (or german or whatever) packaging, which were more singular supply chains, and allows smaller markets in 1st world countries to get more phones as the supply chains normalized.   In the case above.  Apple's own store was the usual suspect for grey marketeer to get phones fastest, drop ship them directly to their place of reshipment and in the end, was sucking $600 phones into a $1000 phone grey market pipeline more efficiently than cash bearing mules at the Apple Store in Manhattan or WoodField Mall.

     

    Releasing more languages requires a more complex supply chain up front with more local limits being built (coupled with the release of 2 distinct new phones), but faster smoothing, as you don't have the massive grey market demand in one language dampening demand in other markets.  So my assessment is that these normally late release markets are now optimized, and Apple can ship a more 'level' demand to all markets and resellers.

     

    The 5c is an interesting anomaly in all this... my guess is that it's now picking up in demand as the holiday buying kicks in...  So releasing it at the time it did allowed Apple to ramp it up as well in relatively low levels working out supply chain of a 2nd new line, and allow it to level out in time for the next 6 weeks, which should make all the 'pick a color' advertising adverts next week... with a Gold 5s set off to the side in the 'yes, we got gold too!'

     

    In all, we should be amazed that Apple can release 2 new phones to the largest set of markets, then a month (and a 1/2) later release 2 new iPads, and they are meeting demand within 2 weeks for the casual shopper and having product in store for the impulse buyer, maintaining a multi-continent supply and distribution chain....  it truly is amazing secret sauce.


     

    I'm just going off of this and other reports stating Touch ID yield issues. Even if you take that away, there are problems in production. 

     

    No, it is not amazing when someone knows they have to produce more units for a larger market base rollout, and then does not. That is called, missing the mark. I'm not impressed with that and neither should anyone else. Tim Cook is the supply chain Grand Master, and supply is this constrained? Amazing would have been me ordering my phone on Sept 23rd and receiving it 1 week later, not a month and a half later. 

     

    5c never had the constraints as the 5s, nor do they have the Touch ID which give some credence to the yield issues. 5c still shipping within 24 hours. They have so many 5c phones available Apple moved production lines over to the 5s to catch up on demand. Again, having to shift production based on real world sales is not amazing. 

     

    This is not to take away from Cook, as he is still the Grand Master of logistics, however, the mark was missed on this. Either Touch ID yields were really bad, they did not produce enough phones, or the Gold was far more than what they thought. In any of these scenarios, amazing is not a word that comes to mind. 

  • Reply 18 of 19
    nikon133nikon133 Posts: 2,600member
    Improved supply chain or less demand? Which seems more obvious?

    Provoking, eh? Demand would never go down so quickly after release, plus we are closing on holidays season... so it has to be supply.

    My wife's gold 64GB came in last Friday, after maybe 10 days. Pretty good, considering that local providers (Vodafone, Telecom) sell them only with shiny new high-end contracts - no stock yet for customers on existing contracts or, God forbid, prepay customers.
  • Reply 19 of 19

    Just received mine today!! 

Sign In or Register to comment.