As the iPad mini hits store shelves to brisk demand today, Apple’s supply of the iPhone 5 has not yet caught up with the demand in the United States, a survey of Apple retail stores shows.
Gene Munster and his team at Piper Jaffray polled 70 Apple Stores to check on availability of the iPhone 5. They found that supply is generally constrained for the more popular AT&T and Verizon models, though inventory is said to be improving for Sprint.
The team also conducted a poll of 738 U.S. customers which indicated demand for Apple’s latest smartphone is increasing. A poll taken prior to the iPhone 5 announcement showed that 48% of customers who planned to buy a new smartphone would choose the iPhone 5, this weeks poll found 55% of respondents indicating they would choose the 5.
The increased demand for the iPhone 5 came at the cost of Android and Windows Phone devices. Amongst survey respondents, those who said they planned to buy an Android device dropped from 39% to 35%, with Windows Phone falling from 9% to 5%.
“We believe the incremental strength in iPhone 5 demand following the product launch, despite the reported supply and Maps issues, suggests that demand for the phone remains strong,” Munster wrote in a note to investors on Friday.
Apple sold 5 million units of its iPhone 5 during the devices first weekend of sales in late September. A total of 26.9 million iPhones were sold in the September quarter.
