Ahead of an expected refresh of its Apple TV set top box, Apple has begun sliding back shipping estimates, while the majority of US retail stores report being out of stock of the current generation model.
With a part number for a product with the code name of “J33″ and known to be the next generation Apple TV also surfacing last week, it certainly appears that an update is imminent.
That saying, the Wii U isnt even out yet nor do we know that much details about (like the Apple tv) so no one knows whats going to happen.
As The Verge notes, while users can order an Apple TV directly from Apple.com, many retail stores are showing an availability date of March 7.
By our most recent count, 98% of Apple’s 246 US stores are currently out of stock, leaving only four with the Apple TV available for immediate pickup during store hours:
- San Francisco flagship (San Francisco, California)
- Higuera Street (San Luis Obispo, California)
- SoHo (New York, New York)
- South Hills Village (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
A fifth store, the Valley Fair location in Santa Clara, California, was showing “in stock” status for the Apple TV just a few hours ago but is now simply listing the product as “unavailable for pickup”.
The Apple TV is also unavailable for in store pickup at Best Buy stores in the tri state area.
However, MacRumors went through and tracked availability at Apple’s brick and mortar retail stores.
These lead times are, however, fairly typical for out of stock products that need to be shipped to a store for pickup.
The retailer will design the manufacturing, packaging and marketing of the goods in order to build on the relationship between the products and the store’s customer base.
On Tuesday, Apple officially sent out invitations for a media event on March 7.
Customers selecting free or 2 business day shipping are being quoted a delivery estimate of Thursday, March 8, while next day shipping could see an arrival on Wednesday, March 7, the day of the event.
It seems likely, however, that Apple would at this point also stall on shipping direct delivery orders until Wednesday’s announcement.
The stores sell Macintosh personal computers, software, iPods, iPads, iPhones, third party accessories, and other consumer electronics such as Apple TV.
For instance, Germany’s iFun.de noticed (Google translation) that Apple’s online store in the country had shifted from listing the product as “Available” to “Ships in 1 2 business days.”.
The Apple TV is a device to display what is on your iPad, iPhone, computer or in the cloud (we.e.
Apple may also roll out updated iTunes Store video content at the higher resolution.
Update: The San Francisco and San Luis Obispo stores are now also out of stock of the Apple TV, leaving only SoHo and South Hills Village with immediate availability of the device.
The App Store for Apple TV will be what makes Apple TV more than a hobby.
Brad Thomson is a business journalist based in Melbourne, Australia. Brad has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Brad spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.
