Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has noted in an investor note released earlier today that availability of Apple’s latest flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5S, has dropped to less than 5% of all iPhone models, as compared to 6% availability previously cited by the analyst a couple of weeks back (via CNET). The analyst derives his data by tracking iPhone 5S supply at 60 different US Apple retail stores three times a week.
“The iPhone 5S is now playing even harder to get. Over the past three weeks, availability of the new high-end iPhone has dropped to less than 5 percent of all iPhone models.
Following the launch of the 5S on September 20, the new model accounted for 27 percent of all iPhones in stock, Munster said. But that number plummeted as consumer demand shot up.”
On asking when might the iPhone 5S become less scarce, Munster said that the supply of the iPhone 5 didn’t catch up with demand until early December last year so, we could be looking at the same scenario for the iPhone 5S as well.
Currently, Apple’s online store in Canada is showing an estimated ship date for the iPhone 5S of 2 to 3 weeks.
