iPhone SE Remains in Tight Supply at Apple Stores and Online

Nearly three weeks after the launch of the iPhone SE in the U.S. and eleven other regions, availability of the new 4-inch smartphone remains limited.

iPhone SE continues to be out of stock at Apple Stores in a number of major U.S. cities, including most or all locations in New York City, Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Portland, Raleigh, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

iPhone-SE-Stock-April-2016
Apple's web-based Personal Pickup tool shows that the smartphone remains in tight supply in many other international cities, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Milan, Montréal, Paris, Rome, Sydney, and Toronto. Most models are currently available on a ship-to-store basis only.

MacRumors forum member Channan writes in "How do I get an iPhone SE?":

All the Apple stores within 300 miles of my location are also all sold out of the model I want. I check every 64GB silver model except Sprint, since the rest are all the same.

I have to buy from an Apple Store because I want to trade my 5s in and get the SE on a payment plan. Some carriers had them in store but that just isn't an option for me.

Meanwhile, online availability of the iPhone SE remains backlogged into May, with new orders estimated to ship in 2-3 weeks in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, and many other countries.

iPhone SE shipping estimates slipped to late April soon after the smartphone launched on March 31. Nevertheless, while extended delivery estimates are anecdotal evidence that iPhone SE sales may be promising, they are not a measurable indicator of exact supply and demand.

Apple has not disclosed official iPhone SE sales figures, and early speculation is mixed. A recent CNBC report claimed that Apple received an initial 3.4 million iPhone SE pre-orders in China, while KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and analytics firm Localytics described first weekend sales as "lackluster."

Prospective iPhone SE buyers should also visit local Apple Authorized Resellers, which in the U.S. includes AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Costco, Sam's Club, Target, Walmart, and many other carriers and retailers. Apple Stores may also replenish limited in-store iPhone SE stock each day, so call ahead.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE
Buyer's Guide: iPhone SE (Caution)
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

elmateo487 Avatar
103 months ago
It's a GREAT deal, so long as one can live with a 4" screen.
I feel like you have this statement backwards.... The whole point of the phone is the 4" screen
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CIA Avatar
103 months ago
"See the problem is no one wants a 4" phone now that the larger screened iPhones are available. That's why these aren't selling. Why would you ever want such a small phone when the larger versions are so much better?"

Well guess what? I'm part of the reason these are sold out. I'm ECSTATIC that finally I can get the modern iPhone guts (more or less) in a smaller form factor phone. Love my iPhone SE. I "downgraded" in size from the 4.7" iPhone 6 to the SE.

Also don't hate on the 16GB. Its really just intended for corporate use, for phones issued by an employer to employees. It's supposed to be cheap and do it's task (whatever the company needs) without costing them an arm and a leg. I agree it shouldn't be so forward facing though, normal users really shouldn't be able to buy it.

Buying the 16GB version should be limited to corporate sales/bulk purchases and not on the public sale site.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crosscreek Avatar
103 months ago
I like mine and it has all I need without gimmicks.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ABC5S Avatar
103 months ago
No numbers announcement but it's clear there is huge demand based on the SE being sold out and the previous stats of how many iPhone users are still on that smaller screensize.

Hopefully the SE's sales can help offset the expected YoY decline in overall iPhone sales.
Or, Apple did not make as many in the first place waiting to see how sales will go ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smoovejayy Avatar
103 months ago
I'd be very wary of getting the 16Gb version of this phone. You will probably get a little over 12Gb usable given you lose some to formatting and obviously to iOS itself. If you intend on doing 4k video, that will go very quickly, and even with the new 12MP shooter, and live photos turned on - its going to be tight! And that's without apps, music etc.

I imagine a lot of people have realised that, and its precisely why the 16Gb is the only one in stock at some places :)
Everyone (including myself) is getting tired of the 16GB crap Apple is selling. How does Apple expect people to fully utilize their devices if they buy the starting option of 16GB storage? Sure, you can invest in cloud services but that is annoying to use when you have weak/no data coverage. I used to have 16GB for iPhone 4, then went to 32GB for iPhone 5, then went to 64GB for iPhone 6 and 6S. I don't need 128GB and I know I don't need 64GB (although since they nixed 32GB I have less than 20GB avail on my phone to make me "think" I need 64 - I can tailor my habits). Of course Apple selling 64GB as the next tier is a scheme for the customer to pay $100 more (which works), but its just sad given what their iDevices can do nowadays, not to mention the ever increasing size of apps (don't know if developers are taking advantage of app-thinning). Maybe Apple will have better sales if they started at 32GB. I think their margins can take a little hit, especially for a company that is so driven to make products to enhance someone's life.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pgwalsh Avatar
103 months ago
Everyone (including myself) is getting tired of the 16GB crap Apple is selling. How does Apple expect people to fully utilize their devices if they buy the starting option of 16GB storage? Sure, you can invest in cloud services but that is annoying to use when you have weak/no data coverage. I used to have 16GB for iPhone 4, then went to 32GB for iPhone 5, then went to 64GB for iPhone 6 and 6S. I don't need 128GB and I know I don't need 64GB (although since they nixed 32GB I have less than 20GB avail on my phone to make me "think" I need 64 - I can tailor my habits). Of course Apple selling 64GB as the next tier is a scheme for the customer to pay $100 more (which works), but its just sad given what their iDevices can do nowadays, not to mention the ever increasing size of apps (don't know if developers are taking advantage of app-thinning). Maybe Apple will have better sales if they started at 32GB. I think their margins can take a little hit, especially for a company that is so driven to make products to enhance someone's life.
They should do a 64 and 128. Anything less is quite small considering the phone supports 4K video.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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