iPhone 5S Sold Out in One Day; Buyers to Face Higher Price and Limited Supply

The iPhone 5S was sold out in less than 24 hours, according to reports. Buyers can expect higher price and limited supply of the handset.

Fortune reported that Apple has a limited supply of the iPhone 5S as it changed its shipment time from 1 week to a month. Thus, consumers and Apple fans can expect to get their hands on the new handset in October. Aside from the U.S., the UK, France and Germany can also expect limited supply.

The sold out status of the iPhone 5S may translate to limited supply of the new handset. Last week, AllThingsD's Ina Fried warned consumers that Apple's new full-fledged smartphone may have limited supply.

Analysts predicted that one possible reason for the limited supply of the iPhone 5S is possible cannibalisation of its sales by the cheaper iPhone 5C. Another possible reason could be difficulty in building the iPhone 5S due to its complicated parts like the 64-bit processor and fingerprint sensor.

Limited supply may also yield a higher price of the handset. Some retailers and resellers may take this opportunity to spike the price up. This is similar to what happened to Google Nexus 5 last year after its supply depleted, sellers offered the device at a higher price.

Apple is no stranger in high demand. Analysts estimated Apple to sell 5 to 6 million iPhones during opening weekend. Other analysts predicted Apple to sell more.

On Sept 10, Apple finally introduced its next generation of iPhones - the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. The iPhone 5S is the full-fledged iPhone, and like the previous iPhone 5, it features 4-inch Retina display, aluminium housing and 8 MP rear camera.

The new iPhone 5S added the faster 64-bit A7 processor and M7 chip GPU as well as a fingerprint reader embedded on the home button. The iPhone 5S took the $199 slot of the iPhone 5 with a 2-year contract.

Meanwhile, the mid-range iPhone 5C boasts some of the features of the iPhone 5 all housed in a plastic casing. The device is available in different colours like blue, green, yellow, white and red variants. The iPhone 5C costs $99 with 24-month lock-in period.

Both devices come with the latest iOS 7. The iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C went on sale last Friday on Apple Stores worldwide. Pre-orders for the devices started last week. Shipping is reported to take 7 to 10 days that was later changed to October for the iPhone 5S compared to 1 to 3 days for the 5C.