Supply situation "when" the iPhone 5 comes out

[emir]

Hi there i am an ancient iPhone 3G owner here who is pretty much sick of the outdatedness and slowness. I've been using my phone for almost 3 years now.(impressive for an iPhone) I had to change the LCD once but other than that everything's ok.

Anyways let's cut to the chase. I live in Turkey, the iPhone 4 came out June of '10. It became available here on October and there were serious stock shortage problems, it was impossible to find an iPhone 4. That shortage continued for months. I think that problem was worldwide, i'm not sure tho(would be great if someone made that clear). That shortage occurred when the demand for iPhone 4 wasn't as high as it is now. Everybody i talk to nowadays wait the iPhone 5. There is a huge demand. Do you think Apple is ready for this type of demand? MY phone is reeeeallllly old and i've been waiting since May. I don't want to wait for it another month to find out i can't get one because of supply issues. Actually, it will begin sales later in Turkey(at least 2-3 months after US date) but i will find a way to get an unlocked version from the US.(that dream can go down the drain too if it happens to be a sim-less version) Which i think is going to be a pretty hard quest, again considering the demand this thing has.(even when people don't know how it will be like)

So what do you think? Is Apple and FoxConn ready to deliver? Maybe "this" is what's taking so long for them to announce it already. They're secretly producing millions of it?

I just wanna hear some thoughts.

 

[xdbuix]

In my opinion, the next iphone will be like any other iPhone, sold out and hard to find. I am sure the iPhone is currently being made in factories, but as history states, iPhone supply has a hard time meeting demand at launch.

 

[PharmDoc]

Demand will be high but I think how high the demand is will depend on what new features/upgrades are put into the phone. Will the upgrades be enough to warrant current iP4 owners to sell their phone and buy a new one? You most likely will have to wait unless Apple has really been stockpiling their supply. Apple products sell well at launch, no doubt about that.

 

[Trash Can]

High demand/short supply/long lines = good publicity for Apple.

 

[awadeee]

If your phone is really that bad, I would consider getting an iPhone 4 from Kijiji or Craigslist or whatever the Turkey equivalent would be. You're probably going to see the same shortages and same demand that we saw with the iPhone 4.

 

[bushman4]

There are those that want the latest and there are those that will only upgrade if it warrants it. Regardless, demand will be very strong and it probably will be months before supply catches up with demand.

 

[nostresshere]

Nobody knows when the new phone is coming out, and what the name of that phone is and what carriers will carry it and what countries will get when and.....

And, since nobody can answer even the basic questions above, they surely can not answer the supply chain side. And even Steve Jobs or Tim Cook can not tell you what the demand side will be like.

So, any answer is total guestimation.

 

[Dwalls90]

Consider the fact that it will more likely than not be out on all 4 carriers before Christmas, and the fact it's the most desired smart phone? Yea, we're looking at some supply/demand issues.

 

[vitzr]

Apple very cleverly plays the supply & demand game to their advantage. They keep people wondering and worrying if they can get instant gratification.

Worked up into a frenzy works to Apples advantage, helps them keep their high margins. The iPhones a deal to the end user because it's the one product that's subsidized.

I wonder if Sprint's got the money to survive the cost of offering iPhones for sale. They may not fully realize what they're getting into. After all the subscriber losses to other carriers, Sprints user base has shrunk dramatically. If not for the wildly popular EVO, they'd be in even worse shape.

 

[murdercitydevil]

I just hope any shortages will be straightened out by Nov 25th, as that's my upgrade date with AT&T. It all depends on the date though...if it's something like late October, I'll probably have to preorder and pay the goddamn upgrade fee.