iPhone 5s Gold Model Sells Out In Under 30 Minutes

Just as I predicted! This morning at 12:01AM PT/3:01AM ET when the iPhone 5s officially went on sale at Apple’s Online Store it took under 30 minutes for the gold iPhone 5s to sell out and have its ship dates slip to an ominous sounding “October.”  As of right now, Apple Store shipping estimates for new orders of the other color (Space Gray and Silver) devices have slipped to 7-10 days in the U.S. and Canada (with the exception of some 16GB and 32GB models on Sprint which still are sitting at 1-3 business days for shipping).  This trend follows a similar pattern to shipping estimates in other countries where the 5s went on sale earlier today.  The original shipping estimate for all 5s models was 1-3 days.

iPhone customers may still be able to purchase launch-day iPhone 5s units by heading to Apple Retail, carrier stores, and/or select third-party reseller outlets — but there is no indication how long those stores will have the iPhone 5s in stock, nor is there any indication about the selection of iPhones that will be in stock at those stores.  We’re hearing reports that even some Apple stores received very few gold models, one report we heard said that one Apple retail store only got one gold model, where another only got five.

Nonetheless, Apple is opening its retail stores at 8AM local time for the launch, while opening times for carrier and third-party reseller locations may vary.  That being said, if you are reading this and aren’t currently in line, you may be out of luck as lines have started to form most places for the iPhone 5s and 5c launch.

In all it took about four hours for the rest of the iPhone 5s’ ship times to slip to 7-10 business days.  As a reminder, last year it took the iPhone 5 60 minutes to sell out.  That being said, this year it took the gold iPhone 5s under 30 minutes to sell out which is pretty impressive.