Online iPhone 5s orders open at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Sept. 20, in-store sales begin locally at 8 a.m.
While it won't be available to preorder, the iPhone 5s will hit Apple's online store at 12:01 Pacific next Friday, Sept. 20, while Apple's retail stores will begin selling the device when they open at 8 a.m. local time.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s prior iPhone launches used online pre-orders, including the iPhone 5’s midnight pre-order opening in 2012, while the lower-priced iPhone 5c is scheduled to accept online orders beginning September 13. The iPhone 5s instead concentrates its first sales on September 20’s online opening and local retail-store launch.
The split makes the two new iPhone models distinct retail events: Apple can take advance 5c demand, but 5s buyers must transact when inventory becomes available.
First-order effects
- iPhone 5s buyers lose the ability to reserve a unit before launch and must compete through Apple’s online store or retail locations beginning September 20.
- Apple retail stores and its online store become the first points of sale for iPhone 5s demand, while iPhone 5c orders begin on a separate timetable.
Second-order effects
- Apple’s retail operations must handle launch-day iPhone 5s demand without a pre-order queue to convert into scheduled fulfillment.
- The different ordering schedules give Apple separate demand signals for the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s rather than a single shared pre-order window.
Third-order effects
- The launch reinforces a tiered iPhone sales model in which Apple can vary availability and ordering rules by model, not merely by release date.
- If Apple continues separating launch mechanics across models, retail access and inventory allocation become part of how the company differentiates its handset lineup.
The trend: Apple is treating iPhone launch logistics as a model-level lever, pairing differentiated hardware tiers with differentiated paths to purchase.