UK iPhone 4 availability has been poor since launch – while iPhone 4 sales have been strong, there is a distinct shortage of worldwide stock to replace sold handsets.
Apple announced it had sold over 1.7 million of its iPhone 4 from launch last Thursday to Saturday, 26 June.
"This is the most successful product launch in Apple's history", said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, on Monday. "Even so, we apologise to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply".
With many stores and networks having been out of stock for a while now, we've asked them all for their latest stock info and will add to this piece when we receive new updates from them. Orange and Phones 4U are yet to comment on current stock levels.
Carphone Warehouse
"We do have stock, but it is very limited as we received huge demand for the iPhone 4," said Carphone in a statement (1 July). "We are working hard though with Apple and the leading mobile operators on getting more stock as soon as possible." Pre-orders can be taken over the phone and in-store for the iPhone 4 on Orange and Vodafone, but they can not be made online. Carphone customers wanting an O2 handset can only register for more information, not pre-order.
O2
Similar to Vodafone (below), O2 says that while stock is rare, another full delivery isn't too far away (1 July). "iPhone 4 is largely sold out, but we expect to be in and out of stock throughout the summer period. We are expecting our next shipment of units from Apple in early July. Customers can look at our website to check which stores have stock."
Late this afternoon (1 July), O2 said it now had more stock of the handset coming into O2 stores tomorrow and Saturday (2, 3 July).More iPhone 4 coming Friday 2 July "It's the news you've been waiting for. A fresh delivery of iPhone 4 is coming to many of our shops this Friday and Saturday. Availability is limited but if you're quick, you might snap one up from midday."
Tesco Mobile
The iPhone 4 isn't yet available on Tesco, but it is taking registrations so it can send out more information when it's available. Presumably, the non-availability is completely about stock levels - Tesco Mobile is half-owned by O2.
Three
The network's CEO Kevin Russell let slip to TechRadar that the iPhone 4 UK release date on Three has been set for the end of this month. "We've kind of got the iPhone now - we have the 3GS - but I think we'll have the iPhone 4 by the end of July. This is a big deal for us - we've got to go head to head with other networks [on smartphones] and not having the iPhone is like having one hand tied behind our backs, with us missing a key weapon," added Russell.
T-Mobile
iPhone 4 is not yet available on T-Mobile, and the pink network is sticking only to its dull press release from 8 June. "Further information on launch timings, pricing and tariff plans will be revealed in due course." There are no other details at present.
Vodafone
Over the weekend, Vodafone said: "we've seen huge demand for iPhone 4 on Vodafone - we've sold everything we have at the moment. We've more iPhone 4s coming in the next couple of weeks." Those who ordered their handsets at the end of last week should now have received their handsets.
A moderator on the online forum said: "All of our iPhone 4s are being allocated in turn and those people who successfully ordered their device online or over the phone will be receiving their handsets very soon, if not already. Anyone who ordered the device online or over the phone after we had sold out was placed on our back order list, and we will allocate stock of the iPhone 4 to these customers as soon as we receive more stock."
