Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard ship times at 4 to 5 weeks as 128GB iPad Pro models sell out

Posted:
in iPad edited November 2015
Apple is already showing stockouts of certain iPad Pro models less than two days after kicking off preorders, while shipping estimates for Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, both deemed essential to the iPad Pro experience, have fallen to 4 to 5 weeks.




Apple saw its initial batch of 128GB iPad Pro models quickly depleted on Thursday, with both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions no longer available for pickup at most brick-and-mortar Apple Stores and estimated next-day delivery times pegged at 12 to 15 days out. The stockout applies to all three color options.

Supply constraints appear to be limited to higher capacity 128GB models, however, as 32GB configurations -- exclusive to Wi-Fi only configurations -- are showing pickup availability at most stores across the U.S. Customers who choose expedited shipping for their 32GB iPad Pro purchase are promised delivery on Nov. 16, while free shipping arrives a day later.

Suffering more substantial delays are Apple Pencil and the new Smart Keyboard, both of which might be considered more of an essential than an add-on accessory by prospective iPad Pro buyers. Shipping availability is estimated at 4 to 5 weeks for both devices, up from the one-week wait times seen at launch.

Apple is touting iPad Pro as a tool for creatives and many users are thinking about purchasing the device specifically for such purposes. As such, the lack of launch day availability for the two first-party accessories came as a disappointment to some.

Apple Pencil is a pressure- and tilt-sensitive stylus developed in tandem with specialized display hardware only found in iPad Pro, meaning its full potential can only be realized on the jumbo-size tablet.

The Smart Keyboard is also specific to iPad Pro as it uses Apple's new Smart Connector interface, but its absence at launch is less of a concern thanks to third-party products like Logitech's Create Backlit Keyboard Case.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 132
    They commonly do this with peripherals for new devices. Any thoughts as to why?
  • Reply 2 of 132
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member
    They thought that nobody wants a stylus? (Just kidding.)
  • Reply 3 of 132
    I ordered my space grey iPad pro 128g WiFi and cellular at 12:40 am on Wednesday and I received my unit today Thursday late. That is unbelievable. I have never had such a fast turnaround.
    I ordered only the iPad and left the keyboard and pencil to be picked up at BestBuy because I have gift certificates that I want to redeem. The 4-5 weeks delay for those items is just inexcusable. It will be longer till I get them from BB.
    This is a big blot on Apple and it is a repeat of the botched Apple Watch debut. I wonder what Jobs would have done?

    Edit: I wanted to load my iPad pro with my iPad Air 2 backup but I entered the circle of update hell. iPad pro needs iTunes 13.2.1 but my MacPro which is running OS X 10.7.5 does not run iTunes 13.2.1 which requires OS X 10.8.5. That is a big screwup by some stupid software design engineer.

    Backing up and Restoring is just pushing data back and forth. Why would that require another OS version than my MacPro and another iTunes version? Speaking as a 47 year career system software engineer this screwup is amateurish.
  • Reply 4 of 132

    I could have picked one up at my Apple Store, but there were no Pencils and there won't be for over a month. Another Apple launch failure.

  • Reply 5 of 132
    I'm excited to receive the 128 GB model I ordered but am annoyed that Apple didn't offer a 64 GB version.

    I understand why -- similar to their rationale for not offering. 32 GB iPhone 6s -- but 128 GB is much more storage than many users need, especially in a world that favors streaming rather than playing locally stored content.
  • Reply 6 of 132
    siretman wrote: »
    I ordered my space grey iPad pro 128g WiFi and cellular at 12:40 am on Wednesday and I received my unit today Thursday late. That is unbelievable. I have never had such a fast turnaround.
    I ordered only the iPad and left the keyboard and pencil to be picked up at BestBuy because I have gift certificates that I want to redeem. The 4-5 weeks delay for those items is just inexcusable. It will be longer till I get them from BB.
    This is a big blot on Apple and it is a repeat of the botched Apple Watch debut. I wonder what Jobs would have done?

    As it is a new product, they are probably analyzing demand to adjust their production capacity. I don't know how many they had on hand for launch, but no matter how many they make, it never seems enough. These things happen at a new product launch and I am sure they will ramp up production for the upcoming holidays.
  • Reply 7 of 132
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bdkennedy1 View Post

     

    I could have picked one up at my Apple Store, but there were no Pencils and there won't be for over a month. Another Apple launch failure.




    I was relatively lucky then. I bought the Pro in Frankfurt yesterday and they allowed me to reserve a Pencil scheduled to arrive next Thrusday or Friday. Fortunately I work just a three minute walk from the Frankfurt Apple Store, so going there again is no problem.

     

    Even when Jobs was around, Apple never coordinated main devices and their accessories properly. Simply does not happen. Cases, from radio remote for the iPod to Camera Connection Kit for the iPad, availability of Watch bands, months of wait for mice and adapters / cables... Having no accessories on launch is simply in their DNA.

  • Reply 8 of 132
    isteelers wrote: »
    As it is a new product, they are probably analyzing demand to adjust their production capacity. I don't know how many they had on hand for launch, but no matter how many they make, it never seems enough. These things happen at a new product launch and I am sure they will ramp up production for the upcoming holidays.
    That sounds very reasonable except for one thing. I ordered my iPad pro minutes after they became available and the fact that I received the iPad in less than two days indicates that I was in the front part of the line. So they did not have any Pencils or Smart keybord for the people at the beginning of the line? What was their inventory? Maybe it was zero because they gave all they had to reviewers. Too far fetched?
  • Reply 9 of 132
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismY View Post



    They commonly do this with peripherals for new devices. Any thoughts as to why?



    I'm not sure. However the I've been using my Pro for most of the day and it's fairly uncomfortable to hold for long periods of time without having the keyboard and stand. It's very fast, the display is beautiful but it just feels awkward to hold. In landscape mode the keyboard is very easy to use if someone can touch type. 

     

    As far as the delay I still believe many rollouts under Tim Cook have been less than stellar. I don't remember any delays in things like smart covers when the iPad 2 was released. 

  • Reply 10 of 132
    atlapple wrote: »
    As far as the delay I still believe many rollouts under Tim Cook have been less than stellar. I don't remember any delays in things like smart covers when the iPad 2 was released.

    There were plenty of issues and delays under Jobs. For starters, the iPad WiFi launched before the iPad WiFi+3G, and the iPad's keyboard dock accessory didn't ship until weeks later.
  • Reply 11 of 132
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    dreyfus2 wrote: »
    They thought that nobody wants a stylus? (Just kidding.)

    It wasn't a 'they'.
  • Reply 12 of 132

    Ordered the 128g within hours of the launch and would have added the pencil without question if it had been available.  Now that I will have time to assess the usefulness, I may not get one at all.

     

    That is where Apple dropped the ball, they missed us crazy impulse buyers...

  • Reply 13 of 132
    buzdots wrote: »
    Ordered the 128g within hours of the launch and would have added the pencil without question if it had been available.  Now that I will have time to assess the usefulness, I may not get one at all.

    That is where Apple dropped the ball, they missed us crazy impulse buyers...

    I was in the Apple Store the day it arrived and I would have walked out with a 32GB model, and Pencil (and keyboard) had at least the Pencil been available, but it wasn't so I didn't. In the long run I doubt it impacts Apple''s bottom line and I'm certain the one I was going to buy was bought by someone else that didn't have that necessity.
  • Reply 14 of 132
    dreyfus2 wrote: »
    They thought that nobody wants a stylus? (Just kidding.)

    But, it's not a stylus. It's Apple Pencil.
  • Reply 15 of 132
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    solipsismy wrote: »
    There were plenty of issues and delays under Jobs. For starters, the iPad WiFi launched before the iPad WiFi+3G, and the iPad's keyboard dock accessory didn't ship until weeks later.

    Don't forget the white iPhone 4. It shipped months later.
  • Reply 16 of 132
    nasserae wrote: »
    Don't forget the white iPhone 4. It shipped months later.

    That was an amazingly long delay. Did Jobs give any indication during his presentation that it would be delayed at all? If so, did he give a timeframe?
  • Reply 17 of 132
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    solipsismy wrote: »
    That was an amazingly long delay. Did Jobs give any indication during his presentation that it would be delayed at all? If so, did he give a timeframe?

    He didn't. It was supposed to be release with the black iPhone 4. For weeks after launch they just said coming soon.
  • Reply 18 of 132
    nasserae wrote: »
    He didn't. It was supposed to be release with the black iPhone 4. For weeks after launch they just said coming soon.

    That's how I was remembering it, but as we see with these things history gets compressed so the timeframes get altered in our minds. That's why a short delay today seems worse than a lengthy delay in the past, and why Cook is now being deemed incompetent and Jobs having a flawless history by so many. Luckily we do have plenty of recorded history at our fingertips so the truth is rarely too far away if we choose to look for it.
  • Reply 19 of 132
    solipsismy wrote: »
    buzdots wrote: »
    Ordered the 128g within hours of the launch and would have added the pencil without question if it had been available.  Now that I will have time to assess the usefulness, I may not get one at all.

    That is where Apple dropped the ball, they missed us crazy impulse buyers...

    I was in the Apple Store the day it arrived and I would have walked out with a 32GB model, and Pencil (and keyboard) had at least the Pencil been available, but it wasn't so I didn't. In the long run I doubt it impacts Apple''s bottom line and I'm certain the one I was going to buy was bought by someone else that didn't have that necessity.

    Are you saying that the stylus is now vital for the function of the device?
  • Reply 20 of 132
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    Are you saying that the stylus is now vital for the function of the device?

    How the **** do you come to that conclusion? I know how an IOS-based device works. I know how an iPad works. What I haven't experienced is how the Pencil works, hence my interest in it.
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