Where have all the white iPhones gone?
It's the reverse of Henry Ford's line about the Model T. Today you can buy any iPhone you want, as long as it's not white.
Apple (AAPL) has been having trouble keeping the entry-level white iPhone in stock since the new 3GS went on sale two and a half weeks ago. But as of Tuesday morning, it has all but disappeared.
The 16 GB model — apparently the most popular — is out of stock in the 31 of the 41 states in which Apple has stores.
It's available in only one of California's 45 Apple Stores, 1 of 9 in Massachusetts, 1 of 7 in Illinois, 1 of 6 in Virginia and 1 of 3 New York City.
It's not clear whether demand for the white 16GB model is unusually high, or if Apple just isn’t making enough of them.
When we last looked at iPhone availability, there were red "sold out" lights for selected models in all but six states (see here). Today at least one model is out of stock in every state.
The only store in Delaware — located in Newark's Christiana Mall — is completely sold out.
According to Apple, there are $99 iPhone 3Gs available in all stores, and the 3GS models are restocked "on most days."
To check availability in the Apple Store nearest you, click here.
AT&T (T) has had 3GS supply problems from Day 1, but Apple's availability widget doesn’t cover their stores.
Below: A snapshot of the situation in Texas as of Tuesday morning.
Very interesting article. In the UK, black iphones rule.
I've only ever seen a couple of white ones!
First of all, allow me to say that most Best Buys seem to have a decent number of white ones in stock. As a cell phone salesman, I'd tell you the ratio of black to white orders is around 5/1, from what I've seen. Typical with the 3G and the 3GS over the past year or so that I've been selling them.
Second of all, regarding the Delaware (Christiana Mall) Apple store, it continually befuddles me as to why they don't open one farther north in Wilmington, maybe near Concord Mall, which is a stones throw from the PA border.
I feel a hit song coming …
"If you're thinking about buying an iPhone it don't matter if it's black oor white … eeh eeehh"
(To MJ fans, no disrespect intended)
there is no apple store in dc. that is why they are sold out.
ex ped: Right you are. I confused Washington State with Washington D.C. Rookie mistake. Thanks for the catch. Fixed now.
Do any of you have any idea how preposterous this exchange really is? White? Black? Mine's a MJ, its both, a breath mint and a candy mint……
@Dave, Killeen TX
"4) A portion of Iphone consumers are also MAC owners. MAC are white. Consumers are just getting a matching color."
I did not know that Media Access Control addresses were white!? Seems odd for a networking hardware address to have a color (MAC Address).
Unless you are referring to Apple's brand name for their personal computer line, which is properly style "Mac". It is not an acronym, but an abbreviation of "Macintosh". Which itself is a play on words for the type of apple (McIntosh, a fruit).
Even then, you are still in error, as nearly all modern shipping Macs are clad in aluminum, save for the top of the Mac mini and the entry level $999.00 white Macbook.
Further, "Iphone" is properly styled "iPhone". It's not really that hard to get it right.
I bought white. White is an archetypal Apple color. It was a no brainer. Black is a dime a dozen common.
What's the point of picking a color iPhone when 99% of users will cover it with a case of some kind? You can buy a black or white or any color protective skin-tight case to go over the parts that are either white or black.
It turns out that the discoloration problem on the white iPhones (a very limited occurrence) was not from heat — it was color rubbing off from cases that the people had put on their iPhones. It cleaned off easily with rubbing alcohol.
I've had my white iPhone for 7 months and the color is still shiny white. The color dosnt change. It's nice not seeing so many fingerprints all over my phone. I hope they don't take white off the shelf forever. Other colors might be nice in the future
I ordered a white iPhone and when it arrived at the store I was not notified by phone nor by e-mail and they supposedly sent it back! This make me not even want to go throught the trouble!
It's a combination of reasons:
1) Apple made less of them.
2) Many consumers are tired of shiny black on everything these days. Scratches and fingerprints show up too easily.
3) Some consumers want to be different.
4) A portion of Iphone consumers are also MAC owners. MAC are white. Consumers are just getting a matching color.
White iPhones are sold out because of the new heat problem in 3GS.
The white ones, after using the GPS and wifi/3G are burning the back of the phone leaving it with an ugly mark.
as far as i know this issue is not solve at this time.
I think the white iPhones have gone where all the comments posted yesterday went.
What was up with that?
Delaware is sold out because there is no sales tax in the state. That Apple store is a zoo every weekend.
Have they have been pulled because they were baking themselves brown.
Although piper jaffery is showing that there are shortages of 13 in M'book pros and iphone 3gs so could just be shortage.
This just looks like they want to sell the pricier model, so stock less of the lower model. Nothing new about that concept.
The higher end configuration on the 13 inch MBP is also very hard to find. I had to order online, and it's not shipping for two weeks.
I placed an order from Apple and received it (32GB White) in 2 days from China (as tracked by FedEx).
Not instant gratification, but DEFINATELY not a shortage.
isn't this just sensationalism?
The white's ugly anyways. The black iPhone looks far better since the screen surround is black as well and with the chrome trim piece, nothing makes that pop better than gloss black.
Actually, there are more colors of the iphone dude or there would be no purpose to this article. Do some research.
It’s the reverse of Henry Ford’s line about the Model T. Today you can buy any iPhone you want, as long as it’s not white.
Isn't it actually the SAME as Henry Ford's line? You can get any iPhone you want as long as it's black. It's not like there are other colors of iPhones. Black is all that is available.
Its the "anti" effect. People who are upgrading from an older phone want something different, something new. Apple kept the exact same form factor as the 3G so…"many" people are switching from black to white. I know thats more or less why I did.
On a side note, they most likely produced many fewer white iphones so thats what the shortage is really tracking, not that they are wildly more popular than the black model, just that they are more popular than Apple anticipated and stocked for.
How is that quote the opposite of Henry Ford's quote? The phone is available in black (only at this time according to the article) as was the 1909 Ford Model T.
Henry Ford's line was that you can have Model T in any color as long as it's black.
So if you can only buy black iPhones, it's not the *reverse* of his line, it's exactly the same thing!
Any possibility of an intentional shortage because white 3GS have turned pick? Maybe this is just a fact of 16G selling more, but no stock being replenished for this reason.
In Germany at the T-Mobile, the story is the opposite, surplus of whites, but waiting list for black ones.
Ha ha, no one wants the white IPODS.