When rumors surfaced of a gold edition of Apple’s new iPhone 5S, most people thought it was a hoax. Apple did indeed produce a gold phone, and according to initial reports, it is a hit. According to techcrunch.com:
“Currently, just a few hours after iPhone 5s orders have gone live on the Apple online store, the gold iPhone is the only model that’s showing a shipping time longer than ‘7 to 10 days’) in the U.S., and it’s not going to make it out to new buyers until October, per the order page. With every new iPhone, there are supply constraints initially in terms of how many Apple can produce, and it’s also possible that the gold iPhone carries additional constraints depending on how hard it is to produce the aluminum with that particular finish, but regardless it looks like the somewhat unorthodox color choice is the big seller this time around.”
Based on the demand for the gold iPhone 5S The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has asked its manufacturers to boost production of the model to meet unexpected demands.
The gold iPhone 5S is an interesting play for Apple. Most people think that the new colorful iPhone 5C is made for developing markets, specifically China and India, and so is the gold iPhone 5S. Gold, seen as a of sign one’s affluence in some cultures, is what Apple is digging for with the gold-colored device. Adding gold to an iPhone is also the most popular after market customization to previous models, so creating a gold version of their top-of-the-line device makes sense.
The iPhone 5S and 5C went on sale on Friday to the usual fanfare: long lines and even longer wait times.
