Apple takes US store offline ahead of iPhone 5s launch

store down

Apple has taken its US web store down as it prepares to begin selling the iPhone 5s. The handset will be available for online order starting at 12:01 am Pacific Standard Time tomorrow morning, and in stores at 8 am.

AT&T also seems to have taken a majority of its site down, and replaced it with a countdown splash page. Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile sites seem to be working fine though, and they will all be selling the 5s online…

As we’ve said before, folks hoping to score a 5s in the near future will want to place their orders quickly. Shipping times in other countries dropped almost immediately to 7-10 days, and some have fallen back to October.

southpoint-iphone5sSouthpoint Mall in Durham, NC via MacRumors

Unfortunately, though, those opting to go buy one in-store tomorrow won’t likely have much better luck. Long lines have already started forming at Apple and carrier stores around the country, and again, supplies are limited.

If you are thinking about ordering online tonight, make sure you check back with us around midnight PST for an update on iPhone 5s availability. Until then, check out some of our more notable 5s posts from the past few days: