Apple retail stores have now begun offering a Personal Pickup option for the iPhone 5s through its online purchase page, allowing customers to see store availability for each model and place orders for in-store pickup.
The move comes after Apple quickly sold out of its initial iPhone 5s online order stock following its launch on Friday, with shipping estimates in the United States falling to October.
In-store pickup is also available for the iPhone 5c, although that device has seen much better availability than the iPhone 5s.
Apple cited "incredible" demand for the new iPhones in the hours after the launch, acknowledging shortages of iPhone 5s models. Gold models in particular have been more popular than Apple predicted, with the company reportedly boosting production of those models by one-third.
The iPhone 5s was announced alongside the lower-cost iPhone 5c at a media event last month, and includes features such as the new “Touch ID” fingerprint sensor, a 64-bit A7 chip, and a new iSight camera with a dual-LED “True Tone” flash.
Update: As noted by 9to5Mac, the ability to place orders for in-store pickup and check store availability is also available in the Apple Store iOS app.
Top Rated Comments
A large part of Apple products are for communication.
Communicate Apple.
Two Gold T-Mobile unlocked 64GB have shipped as well. Arrival Wed Sept 25, as opposed to original estimate of Sept 30 - Oct 2.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/24/iphone-5s-no-longer-available-for-in-store-pickup-at-apple-retail-stores
Hopefully it will just be a few more days before supplies are more plentiful in store. FWIW, my sister ordered at 12:01 PDT on Friday and should get the phone tomorrow. Over the weekend I was pleasantly surprised to see phones in stores (albeit limited configurations), but I'm in a big city (Chicago).