Folks hoping to score an iPhone 5s anytime in the near future should probably opt to stand in line at their local retailer. The handset just became available for purchase in Apple’s web store in Australia and other countries, and it’s already showing 7-10 day shipping times.
The news comes after several months of reports claiming that the iPhone 5s would be in short supply at launch time, but it’s starting to look like it could be this way for a while. Most models from Hong Kong and Singapore stores, for example, aren’t shipping until October…
As MacRumors notes, in both Australia and China, all models in all colors and configurations are already showing shipping time estimates of 7-10 business days. Because there was no pre-order, the handsets should’ve been available immediately, so there’s obviously an issue here.
Additionally, it sounds like snagging an iPhone 5s in the new Gold colorway is going to be a tough task. A Twitter user shares word from the staff at an Australian retail store, saying they won’t have any in stock on launch day. Interestingly, we’re hearing the same thing for Verizon.
Of course, none of this news should come as a surprise, as we’ve been hearing for months that initial 5s inventories would be extremely low. But this almost seems to be worse than expected. It’ll be interesting to see what supplies in the US look like, as online orders begin at 12:01 am tonight.