New iPad online wait time drops to just one week
Apple is now estimating five to seven business days before it'll ship a new iPad from its online store.
Consumers in the U.S. looking to order the new iPad via Apple's online store now face a shorter wait time of just five to seven business days. That includes all variations of the tablet, from the 16 GB Wi-Fi only version to the 64 GB Wi-Fi + 4G model.
The new estimate is also a notable improvement from the two to three weeks that U.S. buyers had to wait when the new tablet debuted in mid-March. The earlier iPad 2 faced hefty wait times over a much longer period last year. So it seems Apple was better prepared this year to ramp up supply to keep up with demand.
Apple faced initial concerns that a shortage of the new Retina Display screens would crimp available stock of the new iPad. Reports surfaced that Samsung was running into trouble ramping up manufacturing quickly enough to produce the screens. But as usual, Apple was able to hedge its bets by turning to more than one display manufacturer, with LG and Sharp kicking in a certain number.
Overseas shipping times haven't quite caught up to those in the U.S., however. Apple's U.K. store shows a wait time of one to two weeks, as do the online outlets in France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries.
The new iPad travels to 12 additional countries today, including South Korea, Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Next Friday, April 27, will see the tablet appear in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa, and Thailand.