iPhone 5s Shipping Estimates Slip to October

Apple appears to have sold out of its iPhone 5s stock, with shipping estimates for all models in the United States slipping from 7–10 days to an ambiguous "October" ship date. The phone, which went on sale yesterday, saw shipping times of 1–3 days for the first four hours that it was available before estimates dropped to a seven to 10 day ship time.

octobershipdate
Shipping estimates for online orders of the phone opened at 7–10 days in a number of countries, indicating significant stock shortages. Apple saw high demand for its gold iPhone 5s, which sold out within 28 minutes after launch in the United States. Both gold and silver iPhones were available in very limited quantities from Apple and other third-party retailers, while stock of the space gray phone appeared to be more widely available.

According to an Apple representative, the company saw incredible demand for the new phone, and a report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple has already asked its supply chain to increase production of the gold iPhone 5s in particular.

Currently, all colors and capacities of the iPhone 5s from all U.S. carriers display a shipping estimate of October. The same is true for the rest of the world, with online Apple Stores in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the U.K. displaying identical October estimates.

iPhone 5c supplies remain plentiful, with all colors and capacities available to ship within 24 hours.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
airpods color prototypes

Apple Tested AirPods in Bright Colors

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:06 am PST by
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases. The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white. They seem close to some...

Top Rated Comments

BlindGoldfish Avatar
160 months ago
7-10 days from now would put us in... October.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HornetOSX Avatar
160 months ago
I really think Apple just screwed this thing up by releasing the 5C. They focused on a lower level tier instead of their top tier, which as we can see now, is severely constrained.
Are you kidding me??


Marketing 101.. make your item more desirable by making it so popular you can't even get it. This creates even more marketplace buzz making the item even more desirable ( and free press)

This makes the increased cost of the 5S over the 5C seem more worth it.


this is why manufactures of all kinds of things ( car's motorcycles artwork .. so on and so on) have limited special editions.


Apple gets all the advantages of a limited edition ( increased desirability and marketplace buzz) ... without actually making a limited edition there for being able to sell millions and millions of them.

Bloody brillant .
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
echo44 Avatar
160 months ago
Apple does this every year. They create artificial demand to have people talking about
The phone and make the news. The stores only have space grey, as if that was an accident. They know they sell the least so supply those first to sell to people out of impulse and being impatient.

Some stores only have 10-20 gold iPhones? A billion dollar company can't make enough supply? Give me a break.
It's getting old, just make enough of what people want.
Go google chip yield and silicon fabrication. Name any other company that needs to meet the demand of cutting edge first production chip technology in the amounts apple's iPhone debut weekend demands! Study in your business class product deadlines and how important release dates are. Apple doesn't have the resources at this time to fabricate their own chips. They depend on other companies such as samsung to produce their chips.
If you understood the business you would understand how small the window has to be to stay competitive in this business . Do you realize it can take up to 8 weeks to fabricate a chip!!! Imagine how difficult it is to bring a product such as the iphone to market. Not only do you have to time chip production with manufacturing time tables. You also have software deadlines. My guess is Apple is running on unbelievable demanding time deadlines. Just look at when iOS 7 made its debut as a developer preview and how quick it is actually released. My guess is if Apple were to wait until they had enough stock to meet demand through out the world they would sacrifice a significant amount of sales to other manufactures as people tend to be very impatient. Just look at these boards as proof.

I could also tell you as a business customer who deals directly with Apple, their goal is to get as much
product into customers hands as fast as possible. Your statement that Apple Artificially inflates demand couldn't be farther from the truth!! Just google "demand Apple puts on its suppliers" They are brutal in trying to secure as much product as possible such as DRAM etc.

You want more proof your completely wrong? Go research the number of iPhones sold on launch weekend since its debut. It is exponentially increasing. Very simple Apple is increasing the number of phones every year trying to meet demand. If they were really trying to limit demand wouldn't they be releasing the same amount or fewer units? It couldn't be any more obvious; every year the demand is increasing and Apple and its manufacturing partners can not keep up with initial demand. If you also look at Asymco site they analyze the amount Apple spends on increasing manufacturing capabilities. IN the last few years the amount has been doubling. This is because they actually buy the equipment that companies such as Foxconn use to manufacture the iPhone
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nyy8 Avatar
160 months ago
I guess I should be thanking the lord I walked into an Apple Store at 5pm launch day, and they had the exact color, and exact size I wanted. :eek:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GuitarDTO Avatar
160 months ago
The 5C is definitely a failure.

The 5S fate has yet to be determined. You can't give a store 3 5S Golds and they sell out and call it a success....

I thought Cook was a Logistics guy--what is he now trying to be Jobs--the sales guy?

If these were made in the USA this wouldn't have happened.

Evidence that the 5C is a failure?

People are so ignorant. Coworker who purchased a 5s talked with the Apple store employees in the line he was waiting in, they indicated they were selling tons of 5C's along with the 5S. The 5C being in stock does not mean it isn't a success.

Apple has played this release nearly perfectly. The margins they must be making on the 5C......
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jav6454 Avatar
160 months ago
I really think Apple just screwed this thing up by releasing the 5C. They focused on a lower level tier instead of their top tier, which as we can see now, is severely constrained.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)