Further evidence is emerging this morning following our earlier story on the iPhone 5s stock situation. It all began when we started seeing lots of pre-order offers for the iPhone 5c but absolutely none for the iPhone 5s. Yesterday we then spotted that O2 would not have any in store today.
EE have stated that the 5s won’t be in all stores (most major ones will), and now the BBC has picked up on our story, stating that Apple could be trying to drive sales of the iPhone 5c, which doesn’t appear to have captured the imagination in quite the way Apple would have hoped. A “network spokesman”, who didn’t want to be named, has stated that there’s “crates and crates” of the 5c but that the 5s was being “drip fed” onto the market. It’s perhaps an effort to create panic amongst customers and the usual large queues outside Apple stores.
We went onto the Apple website this morning because, quite frankly, it’s too cold to queue. Surprisingly, if you order online, you’ll not get your iPhone 5s until October as the device isn’t going to be dispatched for 7-10 business days.
Whatever happens, networks will probably end up shouldering the blame for not having enough iPhone 5s handsets in their stores whilst Apple, who don’t appear to have supplied enough stock, will continue to be seen as a customer-friendly brand.
I just tried the O2 upgrade line and there is a recorded message saying there was an hours wait and to call back, then I got cut off. I’m currently a bazillionth in line on their online chat.
O2 already have a wait time of 3-6 weeks! And no discount at all for being a customer with over 4 years of ‘loyalty’. Can’t say I’m surprised, the new iPhones would sell for at least £100 more in the first few weeks of launch so why should operators give any discounts?
I’m glad I only have to go through this once every 2 years, it does my head in 🙁
you brainwashed fool…..
Nah, not me guv, I’m running a 2 year old SGS2 I got for free with a £7ppm Virgin Sim in it. My missus is the brainwashed fool and I’m just the eejut who has to pay for it!
I’ve done an upgrade with EE this mrning, and they’re quoting up to 30 days for delivery
lol, and so the clever marketing machine at Apple HQ plods on.. Hold back supply and make the fools desire their crappy handsets even more.. That way you can charge what you like….. suckers
Three have plenty in stock online for delivery on Monday. I just don’t buy the argument though that they are holing back supplies of the 5s to increase demand for the 5c. There’s been plenty of news saying that manufacturing the finger print sensor for the 5s has been problematic with the numbers needed. Meanwhile the 5c is basically an iphone 5 with a plastic shell so most of the parts have been in production for over a year.