iPhone 5s Supplies Dry Up Quickly in Germany, France, and the U.K.

[iconboyips]

This is of course a delivery estimate. I'm not saying they will ship sooner, but i have lost count of the times I've ordered stuff from Apple and they give you a long delivery estimate and it's turned up within a couple of days. Its about managing expectation. If they say dispatch in 1-2 business days if they miss it they get customers up in arms. Give a longer dispatch time and you can manage that expectation easier.

I wouldn't bet my life, but maybe just maybe these times will shorten and people will start getting dispatch notices by Monday.

 

[KPOM]

So how does Apple count sales? Is it when someone's credit card is charged? And for online orders is the card not charged until the device ships? If so then sales numbers this weekend might be really low.

I believe for online orders it isn't until the phone is actually activated. It certainly isn't before it is shipped because accounting rules don't allow that (the earliest it can be is when it is shipped). So I agree that launch weekend sales might be less than last year. If that's the case, then Apple might announce launch weekend orders on Monday.

 

[gully666uk]

It was 7-10 working days for me.This time I bought outright As I hated the experience calling Vodafone in the uk and getting messed around on hold.I think maybe I should have just upgraded.Oh well you live and learn.

 

[BanterClaus]

oh no, the horror of having to wait a whole week for a new phone. Whatsoever shall we do... ITS THE APOCALYPSE!

seriously, they make it seem like this is some kind of disaster.. it's 7-10 days get a grip folks.
Plus i would rather wait a month or so for them to iron out the kinks like with every new phone release

Errr not it isn't 7-10 days. That's until dispatch. I ordered a couple of minutes after midnight and my delivery is 07 Oct, 2013 - 10 Oct, 2013.

 

[Journojulz]

Ordered a 32 Gold off the Apple Store app before the online store was live.
Thanks Macrumors for that tip!

Going to be a long week staring at my ip4 with a broken screen....

 

[KeithJenner]

In effect, we have two separate releases. The 5C which is like a normal iPhone release with preorders opening up a week in advance, and the 5S which is effectively being released in a couple of weeks time.

What we don't know is why Apple decided to actually have the 5S release in stores tomorrow. If the store stock is as low as some reports suggest then there will be (relatively) few units in circulation at that release.

What happens then? Will the stores be being replenished whilst all the orders are still waiting? Will the orders actually dispatch early? Who knows.

The suspicion is that the decision to release today is marketing based, but we will probably never know.

Still, at least it was easy to order. Usually these pages are full of complaints about it taking half an hour to get an order in. If you are around when sales start you should be in the first batch, rather than missing out because the online store keeps booting you out.

 

[koban4max]

typical apple....making loud noise...but when the time is near...they whimper like a mouse... what say you apple? Just like the lastest, thinest, imac...

 

[Rogifan]

Suckers!!! Tim Cook is playing you like a worn out guitar.

How do you create demand and buzz for a a minor upgrade? Eliminate preorders and have limited stock Brian says he's posting FA's shortlyin launch days. Suddenly people are wetting their pants to try to get it this weekend when there will be PLENTY in stock in October.

But it'll play great when Tricia Takanawa runs her stock story about Apple fans lined up for the latest release.

Ok genius, if Apple doesn't announce a gazillion sales on Monday the stock will tank and the media narrative will be this launch was a failure and iPhone demand is soft. If you think Apple is doing this on purpose to create "buzz" you need your head checked.

 

[koban4max]

Ordered a 32 Gold off the Apple Store app before the online store was live.
Thanks Macrumors for that tip!

Going to be a long week staring at my ip4 with a broken screen....

what tip?

 

[KPOM]

I've already made my peace with the fact that for the first time since 07, I will not be getting the new iPhone on launch day. I'm going to order online tonight at 3am, have it sent to my office, and get it when I get it.

Of course, depending on how close you are to a store, you might take a chance and get lucky at a physical store. Not tomorrow, but maybe Saturday or Sunday. That's what happened to me last year. I stopped by the Grand Central store (5th Avenue was a zoo) and since they had sold out hours earlier and can't let a crowd congregate (it's in a working train station), there was no one in the special line they set aside. I walked around for a few minutes and heard an associate say they just got a shipment in. 15 minutes later, I was out the door with my iPhone 5. I don't live in NYC anymore so I can't try that again this year. GC has been my favorite Apple Store since it opened up.


What I'm wondering is if they will sell the unlocked version from Day 1. They didn't last year (though I lucked out and got the AT&T version device only before they temporarily blocked that back door). Maybe since T-Mobile sells only the unlocked version (Verizon does so, but only begrudgingly since they are mandated by their 4G license) they will.

 

[highlightshadow]

Has to be said that this launch feels way off...

Didn't Tim Cook say about the iMac launch that they should never had launched because so many people were disappointed at not getting it until they could make volume...

Feels like they're repeating it with this having such a constrained launch .... Tim being an ops guy it just feels pressured now due to Wall St

 

[KeithJenner]

I wouldn't bet my life, but maybe just maybe these times will shorten and people will start getting dispatch notices by Monday.

It's certainly possible. Probably not Monday, but movement later next week wouldn't surprise me at all.

 

[imageWIS]

Suckers!!! Tim Cook is playing you like a worn out guitar.

How do you create demand and buzz for a a minor upgrade? Eliminate preorders and have limited stock Brian says he's posting FA's shortlyin launch days. Suddenly people are wetting their pants to try to get it this weekend when there will be PLENTY in stock in October.

I have an iPhone 4, how is the 5s a minority upgrade for me?

 

[KPOM]

What we don't know is why Apple decided to actually have the 5S release in stores tomorrow. If the store stock is as low as some reports suggest then there will be (relatively) few units in circulation at that release.
The suspicion is that the decision to release today is marketing based, but we will probably never know.

Still, at least it was easy to order. Usually these pages are full of complaints about it taking half an hour to get an order in. If you are around when sales start you should be in the first batch, rather than missing out because the online store keeps booting you out.

Probably because they have created an expectation that product launches occur in late September. It was originally June but they pushed that back with the 4S. Since the competition is announcing phones on a more rapid cycle, Apple probably didn't want to delay the launch.

 

[Rogifan]

I believe for online orders it isn't until the phone is actually activated. It certainly isn't before it is shipped because accounting rules don't allow that (the earliest it can be is when it is shipped). So I agree that launch weekend sales might be less than last year. If that's the case, then Apple might announce launch weekend orders on Monday.

That's what I thought. So this notion of limiting supply to create demand is ridiculous. The demand is obviously there. And not having supply just means lower weekend sales which doesn't look good from a PR standpoint.

 

[firstapple]

I have an iPhone 4, how is the 5s a minority upgrade for me?

Everyone always thinks for whatever reason that each and every person is upgrading from an iPhone 5. in my case, I am coming from a 4S and it IS quite a leap going to the 5S.

 

[576316]

Ordered my 16GB Gold practically on the dot! Sped through checkout! These days waiting for it to arrive are going to be so painful. I feel like my iPhone 4 will get slower and slower everyday.

 

[KPOM]

Has to be said that this launch feels way off...

Didn't Tim Cook say about the iMac launch that they should never had launched because so many people were disappointed at not getting it until they could make volume...

Feels like they're repeating it with this having such a constrained launch .... Tim being an ops guy it just feels pressured now due to Wall St

I think Tim needs to hire a COO. When he was solely the COO he managed to work around Steve Jobs' crazy demands (though launches were a mess, too - remember the iPad 2 launch?). Cook is less likely to delay a launch because the engineers can't figure out how to make the button 0.1mm thinner or because the holes on the iPhone 5c case don't line up exactly right, but he probably can't pay as close attention to the supply chain details as he did before now that he's also CEO (and still managing the retail stores).

 

[imageWIS]

Ordered my 16GB Gold practically on the dot! Sped through checkout! These days waiting for it to arrive are going to be so painful. I feel like my iPhone 4 will get slower and slower everyday.

Did you upgrade to iOS 7? I did and it's def taxing the A4 chip.

 

[KeithJenner]

Probably because they have created an expectation that product launches occur in late September. It was originally June but they pushed that back with the 4S. Since the competition is announcing phones on a more rapid cycle, Apple probably didn't want to delay the launch.

Maybe, but if the 5C was released today with the 5S to follow in a couple of weeks then they would still have hit September for the iPhone release.

You could be right though.

 

[imageWIS]

I think Tim needs to hire a COO. When he was solely the COO he managed to work around Steve Jobs' crazy demands (though launches were a mess, too - remember the iPad 2 launch?). Cook is less likely to delay a launch because the engineers can't figure out how to make the button 0.1mm thinner or because the holes on the iPhone 5c case don't line up exactly right, but he probably can't pay as close attention to the supply chain details as he did before now that he's also CEO (and still managing the retail stores).

How about Jony Ives CEO, Cook co-CEO and COO?

 

[Rogifan]

I think Tim needs to hire a COO. When he was solely the COO he managed to work around Steve Jobs' crazy demands (though launches were a mess, too - remember the iPad 2 launch?). Cook is less likely to delay a launch because the engineers can't figure out how to make the button 0.1mm thinner or because the holes on the iPhone 5c case don't line up exactly right, but he probably can't pay as close attention to the supply chain details as he did before now that he's also CEO (and still managing the retail stores).

Isn't that Jeff Williams role as SVP Operations?

 

[FelixAng]

I'm beginning to think Apple has planned this for Friday's newspaper headline:

iPhones sell out in 3 minutes!

Sadly, Saturday's headline:

Scalpers get $1500 for iPhone 5S

 

[KellyC]

I have an iPhone 4, how is the 5s a minority upgrade for me?

I think many people fail to realize how many iPhone 4 and 4s are out in the wild. So the 5s, for many of us, is a pretty big step up.

I got my 4 when the iPhone came to Verizon. The next family upgrade came along a year later and my wife got her 4s. So for those of us who are still using the 4 it's a pretty significant upgrade.

Ironically, I installed iOS 7 on our devices last night. I'm out of contract with Verizon and can get the 5s at the subsidized price. However, iOS 7 has made my 4 seem like a new phone (to me at least). I'm half tempted to drag out getting the 5s for another couple of months. At least until any potential manufacturing-related bugs have been ferreted out.

 

[TTile]

Has to be said that this launch feels way off...

Didn't Tim Cook say about the iMac launch that they should never had launched because so many people were disappointed at not getting it until they could make volume...

Feels like they're repeating it with this having such a constrained launch .... Tim being an ops guy it just feels pressured now due to Wall St

Who knows if the stock is lower than last year. Maybe they're just switching to a non-preorder system for the non-C launches so they can get people to their stores and generate free media attention. The lower stock rumors are mostly from analysts who claim that the fingerprint sensor is constraining output.

No one will have a good idea of what's happening until the Q3 conference call. But I doubt Cook will disregard his own advice and wisdom.