Apple’s wireless earbuds have been on the market for just over a year now, but they’re shaping up to be one of the biggest tech gifts for this holiday season. In fact, most of the big online retailers appear to have sold out of their stock. Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart’s sites have all been depleted — and even Apple’s currently showing them out of stock.
The company’s site is listing January 5 as at the fastest ship date for the headphones, and the timeframe looks to be about the same for most of its retail stores. A recent check in on Apple’s site shows a majority of its locations also list January 5 availability. That said, there do appear to be a handful of stores still stocking the product.
If you’re in New York City, you might still be able to get your hands on a pair of AirPods ahead of the holiday. Otherwise, hopefully a raincheck will look just as nice under the tree — or maybe a pair of buds from Samsung or Google will do the trick.
The headphones saw some shipping delays early on, being pushed from October to December 13 of last year — similar to what the company’s high end HomePod suffered recently, stating that Apple needed “a little more time” to bring the product to market. This year, AirPods have been one of the primary focuses of the company’s holiday ads. It appears the tact has worked — perhaps even a little too well.
Recent reports have suggested that AirPod shipments are set to double next year, though for those who were planning on picking them up as a holiday gift — it appears you’ve missed the boat.