Overview
- Preorders, which opened on Friday, Oct. 16, filled rapidly and Apple’s online store moved many estimated delivery windows from the promised Oct. 23 date into late January.
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple proceeded with the global rollout even though it knew supplies were constrained and expanded availability to more than 70 countries instead of limiting the first wave.
- User-shared order screenshots reported by MacRumors show some individual preorders in the United States, Japan and other markets have been moved earlier, sometimes by weeks, signaling partial, localized fulfillment easing.
- Apple’s storefront often uses conservative estimated delivery dates that can be earlier in practice, which tempers but does not erase the large number of still-oversubscribed orders.
- The rollout is likely to leave many early buyers waiting and could affect carrier deliveries and holiday demand, so observers will be watching Apple’s inventory allocation and further order updates for signs of wider relief.