Despite five million units being sold in three days, Bloomberg is claiming that demand for the iPhone 5 has been outstripping supply because of a shortage of the ultra-thin display units used in the new phone.
The new iPhone uses in-cell screen technology, which rolls together the display and touch-sensitive parts of the screen in order to make it thinner. These screens, though, are more labor-intensive to make. Hence the problem.
https://gizmodo.com/iphone-5-vs-galaxy-s-iii-smartphone-display-technology-5945885
Originally Apple was using LG Display Co. and Japan Display Inc. to produce the new four-inch screens. To ensure production remained high, though, Apple drafted in the help of Sharp to make more displays.
According to Bloomberg, however, Sharp has been struggling to meet demand. Reports suggest that the company struggled to fix defects in its screens—the knock-on result being delayed shipments of iPhones and less stock to sell on to consumers.
Of course, this is all based on analyst reports and not cold, hard numbers from Apple itself—so it’s best taken with a pinch of salt. And, uh, a good reason for selling out of phones could be the fact that they sold 5 million of the things, rather than, you know, having minor supplier issues. Either way, no doubt it’s a problem Apple would like to solve soon. In the meantime, you can at least now reserve an iPhone 5 for in-store pickup, so at least you won’t have to wait in line. [Bloomberg]
https://gizmodo.com/you-can-reserve-an-iphone-5-for-in-store-pickup-at-the-5946087
