A short supply of the latest Apple iPhone has frustrated and concerned mobile networks.
"Demand for the new iPhones has been incredible and we are currently sold out or have limited supply of certain iPhone 5S models in some stores," the company told news tehcnology site allthingsd.com Friday.
According to BBC News, several networks said the product was scarce in United Kingdom, disappointing many who thought they'd have a shot to get their hands on the new device.
When networks were contacted, they did not want to be identified for fear it could hinder the situation and cause their supply of the phone to remain un-replenished. Apple has said the shortage was due to the product's popularity.
While inventory may be low, networks based in the United Kingdom told BBC there was a lot of Apple's new iPhone 5C or lower cost phone available. Two people close to the situation felt the company was trying to bring up sales of the iPhone 5C, but customers did not want to purchase the phone BBC reported.
A network spokesman told BBC, they had "crates and crates of the 5C available," but the iPhone 5S was being "drip-fed" into the market. The spokesman also said networks and retailers did not know when Apple would re-fill their supply.
Apple told consumers on its site that the iPhone 5S would not be available for seven to 10 working days in the United Kingdom after it had been on sale for not even an hour. Staff at Vodafone reportedly told BBC News models of the iPhone 5S would not be in stores until Saturday, while another staff member said they would be available on the day they were scheduled to launch but couldn't say which.
Vodafone later made a clarification about when more of the phones would be available.
"We will have models of both 5S and 5C in our stores across the country from tomorrow," they said. "We are doing as much as we can to ensure every store has every configuration. We will be very open with our customers about what we have available to them."
