This season, Apple’s Airpods have sold unexpectedly fast, leaving hundreds of last-minute shoppers in shock. Most of them had expected to get the earpieces in 3 to 5 days max, but this time they weren’t able to get them for Christmas when they tried to purchase them from the Apple Online Store.
On the company’s website, delivery times for the Airpods have stretched to the first weeks of January. So, look for the gadgets on other websites if you plan to buy them for that special someone this Christmas.
However, don’t expect a wide range of alternatives one week before Christmas. Sprint, Best Buy, and Amazon also have supply issues. Their delivery times for the Airpods are for January. In some cases, the accessories are no longer available.
AT&T promised to deliver them within two days but that likely has changed due to excess demand. On B&H the products were out of stock.
There’s another options: brick-and-mortar stores, Apple Stores, and Best buy. Some stores may get the devices this week, but you must act quickly as you are not the only person interested.
In Apple stores, if you opted for the pickup option, you’ll get the Airpods no earlier than January 5, 2018. Some stores said they had some units left, but they were selling like hot cakes over the weekend.
Apple’s Supply Issues
It is not the first time Apple faces supply issues. It already happened with the Airpods and the latest iPhone model, the iPhone X, too. Holiday demand has always been tremendously increased and the company seems to just not be able to keep up.
In August, Apple promised to boost headphone production, and the supply did improve. However, this year, last-time shoppers were the least fortunate.
The company’s CEO Tim Cook said in August that the production capacity for the wireless headphones rose dramatically and that the company was working around the clock to deliver them to customers. However, Cook admitted that the supply chain was still not able to meet the strong demand.
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