iPhone 5s Shipping Estimates Slip to October

[hwrdrrk]

Honestly, i personally would have preferred an 5s with the polycarbonate of the 5c. Yes i said it!

"Say what you need to say. Say what you need to say."
~John Mayer, grammy award winning songwriter.

 

[crees!]

I really think Apple just screwed this thing up by releasing the 5C. They focused on a lower level tier instead of their top tier, which as we can see now, is severely constrained.

Apple already had a strong supply of parts for the 5C since it's basically the 5. Now the 5S has a lot more new parts seeing a first run of production. I'd bet if we only got the 5S we'd still be seeing the same tight supply.

 

[KdParker]

can those who got a 5S already (I see there are several in this thread) please comment on the touch ID performance. Any noticeable lag? how accurate is it?

Works great. No lag, and I like that you can add multiple finger prints.

 

[Michael CM1]

Absolutely. I got up at 12:01 AM in the morning and ordered mine and got my order from 1 to 3 days. People complaining about not getting theirs are the ones that did not get up on time to order them it's their own fault

I'm pretty sure people who have ordered hot concert tickets are all, "You had three hours to get them? THAT'S AN ETERNITY!"

I'm bummed that I have to wait, but I like my extra $80 or whatever charge I would've faced for leaving a month early. I paid it two years ago because AT&T was horrible at my place and I was borrowing my mom's 3GS after my 4 died. I have a working 4S now, so it's just a matter of being tired of Verizon 3G speed. Plus once I get on an AT&T mobile share plan, FREE HOTSPOT!

Just one month.

 

[KdParker]

I made the mistake of believing targets "reservations", looks like apple cut target out of the initial shipments because none of the stores around me received any inventory. I should of went with my gut and taken the 1-3 day shipping online.

Target came through for me. Got my phone at 8am on launch day and they had more to sell all day.

Just wondering, how high where you on the reservation list?

 

[barondebxl]

"Say what you need to say. Say what you need to say."
~John Mayer, grammy award winning songwriter.

Lol! Nice song too.

 

[Medic311]

I'm pretty sure people who have ordered hot concert tickets are all, "You had three hours to get them? THAT'S AN ETERNITY!"

I'm bummed that I have to wait, but I like my extra $80 or whatever charge I would've faced for leaving a month early. I paid it two years ago because AT&T was horrible at my place and I was borrowing my mom's 3GS after my 4 died. I have a working 4S now, so it's just a matter of being tired of Verizon 3G speed. Plus once I get on an AT&T mobile share plan, FREE HOTSPOT!

Just one month.

i had a 4S on Verizon's 3G and i couldn't take it anymore either. their 3G network has gone to sh*tttt.

i went onto eBay and bought an iPhone 5, 64GB model running iOS 6.1.2 with jailbreak for just $528 with 2 cases, 2 cables, and a charger.

as a result, i kept my unlimited plan and now i have LTE and unlimited wifi tethering at LTE speeds which is insane. faster than my home FiOS

 

[-js-]

In the past, Apple has continued selling the prior year's model when releasing an upgraded model, and that's one of the reasons why they've always had so much trouble meeting demand for the new model - it uses similar/identical manufacturing lines as the new model. That's a real problem with the iPhone 5, as it's comparatively difficult to manufacture - you can only churn out milled aluminium parts so fast.

This year Apple wisely created a new design to sell as "last year's iPhone", the 5c. It can be manufactured using simpler parts in a less-involved process. By switching the 5c away from the design of the 5, they actually made more manufacturing capacity available for the 5s.

If they hadn't done that, we'd be looking at even worse delays for the 5s, and the 5c would start seeing delays as well.

Excellent point! I hadn't thought of it this way. I strongly suspect you are correct.

Facepalm.

A) Apple has once before tried a gold product and it didn't do well, so they were being cautious this time around

B) There was an issue with producing the fingerprint sensor, so they made less 5s than originally estimate. PLus, it's not like they are making a few thousand phones, we are talking about millions of phones.

C) You would know about A + B if you had bothered to read Macrumors this past week. Instead of ignorantly complaining.

Precisely.

Go google chip yield and silicon fabrication. Name any other company that needs to meet the demand of cutting edge first production chip technology in the amounts apple's iPhone debut weekend demands! Study in your business class product deadlines and how important release dates are. Apple doesn't have the resources at this time to fabricate their own chips. They depend on other companies such as samsung to produce their chips.
If you understood the business you would understand how small the window has to be to stay competitive in this business . Do you realize it can take up to 8 weeks to fabricate a chip!!! Imagine how difficult it is to bring a product such as the iphone to market. Not only do you have to time chip production with manufacturing time tables. You also have software deadlines. My guess is Apple is running on unbelievable demanding time deadlines. Just look at when iOS 7 made its debut as a developer preview and how quick it is actually released. My guess is if Apple were to wait until they had enough stock to meet demand through out the world they would sacrifice a significant amount of sales to other manufactures as people tend to be very impatient. Just look at these boards as proof.

I could also tell you as a business customer who deals directly with Apple, their goal is to get as much
product into customers hands as fast as possible. Your statement that Apple Artificially inflates demand couldn't be farther from the truth!! Just google "demand Apple puts on its suppliers" They are brutal in trying to secure as much product as possible such as DRAM etc.

You want more proof your completely wrong? Go research the number of iPhones sold on launch weekend since its debut. It is exponentially increasing. Very simple Apple is increasing the number of phones every year trying to meet demand. If they were really trying to limit demand wouldn't they be releasing the same amount or fewer units? It couldn't be any more obvious; every year the demand is increasing and Apple and its manufacturing partners can not keep up with initial demand. If you also look at Asymco site they analyze the amount Apple spends on increasing manufacturing capabilities. IN the last few years the amount has been doubling. This is because they actually buy the equipment that companies such as Foxconn use to manufacture the iPhone

AWESOME POST!

I don't care about waiting to get my phone, so I'm definitely not whining, but every year there's a convenient excuse for the short supply. Last year or maybe the year before I think there was something about a shortage of parts for the retina displays.

Apple knows just what they're doing. There's no reason why they couldn't have launched this or previous models a few weeks later in order to ensure that they could meet demand, but demand being greater than the supply just creates even more demand. Every company that can get away with this does it.

Not true at all. Supply chain issues are a nightmare when you're talking about making MILLIONS of units all for ONE SINGLE RELEASE WEEKEND! These problems plague every company not because they want them and plan them but because they are very hard to completely eliminate. There is always some way that your company can get screwed and not have enough of a necessary part.

We all knew--or should have known, since we're MR members--that the fingerprint sensor was in shorter supply than Apple would have liked, and that it was going to constrain the supply of 5S's at launch. This is why there was no preorder for the 5S.

The 5C doesn't have the FP ID, and so they were able to make more than enough. That's why there WAS a preorder for the 5C.

And yet, despite these common sense explanations for these things, so very many people here at MR felt the need to attribute an intentional malfeasance (or stupidity) on Apple's part: they didn't offer a preorder because they wanted the publicity of long lines at the stores; they were stupid and made too many of the 5C; they intentionally limited supply to drive up the "hype" (or whatever).

Really . . .

I mean, it's not that Apple isn't a company and isn't focused on making money--it is and it is. I don't think Apple is some wonder of amazing ethical conduct. But there is really no need to demonize them when there is sound marketing and business and supply chain explanation at hand!

As for the 5C, I totally agree that for me personally saving a $100 to get LAST YEARS tech is just a plain false economy. You're paying, what?, like $800+ per year for your smartphone service, and are committing to TWO YEARS, and you want to save $100? That's just not good economical sense!

BUT, I'm here to tell you that for most people--or for many people at any rate--$200 is just too much. They just will not spend that on a cell phone. Period. I don't know why. I don't get it. But there it is. I have a very tech savvy and very smart friend here at work (I work at a particle accelerator) and he just is not willing to spend $200. He just doesn't have that much free cash or something. I don't know. But $100 is as much as he will spend. Period.

And my mom, and my wife's uncle both got iPhones (without asking me for advice, of course) this spring/summer. And they both got . . . wait for it . . . iPhone 4 models for $1 on contract. The 4. Not even the 4S.

And, I mean, how do we all think we got into this stupid mess of carriers like AT&T and Verizon "subsidizing" our iPhones with costs built into the monthly fee with a 2 year committment? Because the biggest reason people cited for NOT getting an iPhone was the high initial cost. Personally, I would much rather pay full price for an unlocked iPhone and have my monthly cell bill be $15-$20 less. But at least on AT&T, there is no option. I finished my 2 year contract in February. But my bill didn't change.

Anyway, point is that the 5C will sell well. It already has, if the estimates are correct.

I'm not saying it's rational and sensible. I'm just saying that it is. Selling a new, this year model iPhone for $100 on contract will bring in a LOT of new iPhone owners. Point of fact, my friend at work is thinking seriously about a 5C.

 

[johnswilson1]

Too much confusion about 5c

So true!

The fact that the 5C is ONLY $100 less makes it a total rip off
There is no way that getting hardware 1 year old (and hence will stop being supported 1 year earlier) as well as missing out on all the new features is worth saving $100

Even for casual users I would not recommend the 5C since it will be obsolete a year earlier, so you would actually save money by using the 5S in the long run! (I would recommend buying a 2nd hand iPhone 5 to casual users though since they are much cheaper now)

smh. How much would the iPhone 5 be if Apple continued to sell it on contract? $100. Same as the 5c. And how old is the iPhone 5? 1 year. Same as the internals in the 5c. Yet you're sitting here saying you wouldn't encourage a friend to get the 5c, however you would tell them to get a used iPhone 5? Seriously?

 

[OC40]

smh. How much would the iphone 5 be if apple continued to sell it on contract? $100. Same as the 5c. And how old is the iphone 5? 1 year. Same as the internals in the 5c. Yet you're sitting here saying you wouldn't encourage a friend to get the 5c, however you would tell them to get a used iphone 5? Seriously?

+1

 

[DanCorleone]

"Apple is Domed!" Ha somebody once posted that by mistake!

 

[Nahaz]

The 5c is probably easier to make, more profitable, and they already know the diehards will go for the 5s.

I'm starting to wonder if the 5c is a comparative flop.

I think it comes down to 3 things;

1. The iPhone 5c is basically last years model in a pretty polycarbonate dress.
2. For those buying outright, The iPhone 5s is the more attractive option.
3. The contract price in some countries is minor between the 5c and the 5s, so again, might as well get a iPhone 5s

For example;

 

[DribbleCastle]

Are you kidding me??


Marketing 101.. make your item more desirable by making it so popular you can't even get it. This creates even more marketplace buzz making the item even more desirable ( and free press)

This makes the increased cost of the 5S over the 5C seem more worth it.


this is why manufactures of all kinds of things ( car's motorcycles artwork .. so on and so on) have limited special editions.


Apple gets all the advantages of a limited edition ( increased desirability and marketplace buzz) ... without actually making a limited edition there for being able to sell millions and millions of them.

Bloody brillant .

Completely disagree with this line of thought.

It's way too simplistic to think that Apple would do this to drive demand/buzz. Yes, it is a nice side effect, but keep in mind that Apple is a publicy traded company. Shortages are terrible for it's stock value and it's goals of making quaterly fiscal goals. Apple would sell a phone to everyone in the world on day one if they could do it.

It's just really hard to make millions of a product that you announced 10 days ago and ship them across the world. Not to mention that if any one part in the process is difficult to make or aquire the whole thing breaks down. Operations and logistics are just really really hard. And Apple is one of the best companies in the world with operations.

I'm just glad that Apple is not like most of the other mobile phone companies that annouces new product months in advance without pricing, release dates etc.

 

[Scurvy_elephant]

Silver 64 oct 21-30!

I stood in line yesterday here in Denver and they sold out of everything except 16's 50 people ahead of me. I went home and began to buy online through apple, but they couldn't carry over my employee discount on my monthly ATT bill, so I decided to buy online from AT&T directly. Everything went smooth, it said my shipping estimate for the silver 64 was 7-10 days. They charged my credit card and then sent me an email that my estimated shipping time is Oct 21-30! I hope I can still buy Apple Care. I wonder if I got moved to the bottom of the priority list not going through Apple. As far as the scarcity for this release, it does seem worse than most releases as signal led by the unavailability of pre-orders, but most f us here read up in Rumors regularly and knew that the fingerprint technology was likely a bottleneck. The 5c offers a relief for that demand as well as aligning their products offerings in a rainbow of colors similar to iPods. I am excited to finally retire my 3GS, but disappointed that I have to wait longer than I expected for my new phone.

 

[JayCee842]

I really think Apple just screwed this thing up by releasing the 5C. They focused on a lower level tier instead of their top tier, which as we can see now, is severely constrained.

Or they did it on purpose...

 

[dannyhex]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


Apple appears to have sold out of its iPhone 5s stock, with shipping estimates for all models in the United States slipping from 7-10 days to an ambiguous "October" ship date. The phone, which went on sale yesterday, saw shipping times of 1-3 days for the first four hours that it was available before estimates dropped to a seven to 10 day ship time.

Image​

Shipping estimates for online orders of the phone opened at 7-10 days in a number of countries, indicating significant stock shortages. Apple saw high demand for its gold iPhone 5s, which sold out within 28 minutes after launch in the United States. Both gold and silver iPhones were available in very limited quantities from Apple and other third-party retailers, while stock of the space gray phone appeared to be more widely available.

According to an Apple representative, the company saw incredible demand for the new phone, and a report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple has already asked its supply chain to increase production of the gold iPhone 5s in particular.

Currently, all colors and capacities of the iPhone 5s from all U.S. carriers display a shipping estimate of October. The same is true for the rest of the world, with online Apple Stores in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the U.K. displaying identical October estimates.

iPhone 5c supplies remain plentiful, with all colors and capacities available to ship within 24 hours.

Article Link: iPhone 5s Shipping Estimates Slip to October

go to bestbuy, got mine opening day with 15 minute wait.

 

[-js-]

I stood in line yesterday here in Denver and they sold out of everything except 16's 50 people ahead of me. I went home and began to buy online through apple, but they couldn't carry over my employee discount on my monthly ATT bill, so I decided to buy online from AT&T directly. Everything went smooth, it said my shipping estimate for the silver 64 was 7-10 days. They charged my credit card and then sent me an email that my estimated shipping time is Oct 21-30! I hope I can still buy Apple Care. I wonder if I got moved to the bottom of the priority list not going through Apple. As far as the scarcity for this release, it does seem worse than most releases as signal led by the unavailability of pre-orders, but most f us here read up in Rumors regularly and knew that the fingerprint technology was likely a bottleneck. The 5c offers a relief for that demand as well as aligning their products offerings in a rainbow of colors similar to iPods. I am excited to finally retire my 3GS, but disappointed that I have to wait longer than I expected for my new phone.

You have 30 days from the day your order is shipped to buy AppleCare+ so you're good.

 

[Aussi3]

Would love to know what date in October, am I better off to keep going back to the apple store till they have one or ordering online and waiting which could be between October 1 and 31 ???? Arhhhh decisions decisions

Wish it was a more confirmed date than just October

 

[eroslws]

The article is a misnomer. While Apple.com is not shipping until October, you can pick up a SG 16GB 5s at any Apple store next week. I'm visiting Oregon next week so I'm waiting to do just that. Yay no taxes.

 

[mrjr101]

can those who got a 5S already (I see there are several in this thread) please comment on the touch ID performance. Any noticeable lag? how accurate is it?

No lag at all. I honestly never expected to be this fast. I'd say it takes 30 to 40ms to unlock your phone more or less and much much faster (almost instant I estimate 5 to 15ms) when you wake up the phone by pressing and releasing the home button and leave your finger on the sensor at once. I'm very impressed.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Unless they sold, I don't know, 10 million iPhone 5S's this weekend (which we will presumably find out on Monday), Apple really should've anticipated demand. It seems silly to me to say that they would intentionally limit supply, but it also seems farfetched that they couldn't see this coming.

Apple usually sells 10 million iPhones in a month.

Selling that many in 3 days is a little crazy.

Maybe they should have started manufacturing them even earlier to meet demand over the launch weekend. But I guess they figure that people will buy the iPhone eventually... so why run the factories on extreme overtime just for one weekend?

On a side note... I think it's funny how people are questioning whether the iPhone sells out during the launch weekend.

Apple will make more iPhones anyway... A LOT more.

Launch weekend sales will make a nice headline on Monday... but 50 million next quarter is even nicer

 

[H2SO4]

Completely disagree with this line of thought.

It's way too simplistic to think that Apple would do this to drive demand/buzz. Yes, it is a nice side effect, but keep in mind that Apple is a publicy traded company. Shortages are terrible for it's stock value and it's goals of making quaterly fiscal goals. Apple would sell a phone to everyone in the world on day one if they could do it.

It's just really hard to make millions of a product that you announced 10 days ago and ship them across the world. Not to mention that if any one part in the process is difficult to make or aquire the whole thing breaks down. Operations and logistics are just really really hard. And Apple is one of the best companies in the world with operations.

I'm just glad that Apple is not like most of the other mobile phone companies that annouces new product months in advance without pricing, release dates etc.

I disagree with it too. There should be a downvote button on this forum and whenever a BS post gets downvoted too much it's automatically deleted.

 

[topper24hours]

I'm pretty sure people who have ordered hot concert tickets are all, "You had three hours to get them? THAT'S AN ETERNITY!"

I'm bummed that I have to wait, but I like my extra $80 or whatever charge I would've faced for leaving a month early. I paid it two years ago because AT&T was horrible at my place and I was borrowing my mom's 3GS after my 4 died. I have a working 4S now, so it's just a matter of being tired of Verizon 3G speed. Plus once I get on an AT&T mobile share plan, FREE HOTSPOT!

Just one month.

You're leaving Verizon for AT&T right as you get your 1st 4G phone?????!

*shakes head in disappointment*

 

[mw360]

Apple does this every year. They create artificial demand to have people talking about
The phone and make the news. The stores only have space grey, as if that was an accident. They know they sell the least so supply those first to sell to people out of impulse and being impatient.

Some stores only have 10-20 gold iPhones? A billion dollar company can't make enough supply? Give me a break.
It's getting old, just make enough of what people want.

Why does anybody believe this? Would Tim Cook rather you bought an iPhone or rather you went around talking about it? Do people who haven't bought an iPhone not talk about theirs? Is talking to your friends about the iPhone you couldn't buy somehow better than showing them one you did? What's the point of having all these people hear all this talk if you're going to pretend you don't have any for sale when they walk into a store? Its nonsensical.

As for making enough gold phones, we were reliably informed by posters here that a gold iPhone was a ridiculous idea and nobody wanted one.

----------

The article is a misnomer. While Apple.com is not shipping until October, you can pick up a SG 16GB 5s at any Apple store next week. I'm visiting Oregon next week so I'm waiting to do just that. Yay no taxes.

There's a misnomer around here somewhere but its not the article.

mis·no·mer [mis-noh-mer]
noun
1.
a misapplied or inappropriate name or designation.
2.
an error in naming a person or thing.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English < Anglo-French, noun use of Middle French mesnomer to misname, equivalent to mes- mis-1 + nomer < Latin nōmināre; see nominate

Can be confused: misnomer, mistake (see synonym study at mistake).

 

[inscrewtable]

I guess I should be thanking the lord I walked into an Apple Store at 5pm launch day, and they had the exact color, and exact size I wanted.

Which "lord" would that be, lord of the ringtones perhaps?