iPad Air Supplies Expected to Be Plentiful at Launch With In-Store Pickup Available

When Apple launches orders for the iPad Air on Friday, November 1, the company will reportedly accept requests for Personal Pickup, according to a source who notified MacRumors about Apple's plans.

With Personal Pickup, prospective buyers can reserve an iPad Air online beginning at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time and pick it up at a nearby Apple retail location later that same day without waiting in line.

Launch day availability of Personal Pickup is unusual for Apple, as the company did not offer the choice for the iPad 2, the last tablet that was offered without pre-orders. Apple also did not initially offer in-store pickup of the iPhone 5c, despite the fact that supplies of the phone were readily available.

Though Apple has elected not to accept pre-orders for the iPad Air, it appears that supplies of the tablet are plentiful, with no significant shortages expected. And while supplies of the iPad Air do not appear to be constrained, the same cannot be said for Apple's Retina iPad mini. The tablet, which does not yet have a solid release date, may not be widely available until early 2014.

Revealed last Tuesday, the new iPad Air weighs in at a pound and is 20 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than Apple's previous fourth-generation iPad. Along with a Retina display, it includes an A7 processor, an M7 motion coprocessor, and a 5-megapixel rear camera.

Available in white/silver and black/space gray, the iPad Air begins at $499 for the entry-level 16 GB Wi-Fi only model with a $100 price increase for additional storage options up to 128 GB and an extra $129 for comparable cellular models.

While online orders will be accepted beginning at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time in the United States and at varying times in other countries, Apple retail locations will open at 8 a.m. local time in the U.S. and other countries in Europe and Asia to begin in-store sales.