The supply of the iPhone 5 seems to be finally catching up with demand, as a recent survey shows that the device is generally in stock and available for walk-in purchases.
A survey of U.S. Apple Retail Stores conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, and reported by AppleInsider, revealed that the phone was generally in stock and available for walk-in purchase. Further, the shipping time for orders placed at the Apple Online Store has fallen to one week, its lowest point since the first batch of phones sold out during the launch.
Muster and his team surveyed 20 Apple Retail Stores and found that most models of the handset were “readily available” in each store. Mr. Munster said in a note to investors on Thursday that he believes the iPhone 5 supply has finally reached a level where customers can walk into an Apple Store, and walk out with a phone.
The Verizon version of the iPhone 5 continues to be the hardest to find. However, the recent survey showed that all 20 of the stores surveyed had at least one model of the Verizon phone in stock.
Based on his survey, Munster reiterated his earlier sales prediction of 45 million iPhone shipments for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013.
A similar Citi survey of 50 U.S. Apple Retail Stores found that 92 percent had “wide availability” of the iPhone 5, of which 90 percent promised on-demand availability for walk-in customers.
If you’ve been waiting for the time to grab an iPhone 5 without a long wait, it appears that time is now.
