The supply of the iPhone 5 for AT&T and Verizon continues to improve at the Apple retail stores, and may reach consistent availability in the next 2 to 3 weeks.
Gene Munster and his team at Piper Jaffray have been conducting nightly inventory checks at 100 Apple Stores. They found this week that availability of the iPhone 5 at all three major U.S. carriers, including Sprint, was above 20 percent for the first time.
54% of Apple Stores surveyed had the AT&T model in stock, while 24% had the Verizon model. 84% had the Sprint version available for sale.
The numbers are a significant improvement from before, when supplies of the AT&T and Verizon versions of the iPhone 5 were severely constrained. Availability for the device for number three carrier Sprint has been consistent for a few weeks.
The information follows a separate report on Thursday that cited checks in Apple’s supply chain revealing that production capacity for the iPhone 5 is “much improved” from levels when the device first launched in September.
Munster’s survey of 100 Apple Stores was ongoing for the last 23 days. His team checked the Apple online store 30 minutes after new iPhone 5 units became available for reservation at 10PM local time each evening.
