AirPods

AirPods sold out from Apple & other retailers until 2018, frustrating last-minute holiday shoppers

Chance Miller | Dec 17 2017 - 9:32 am PT

As we enter the final stretch of holiday shopping this week, Apple’s AirPods are again facing supply issues. After once improving to 3-5 day delivery, and even quicker in some cases, you now won’t get them in time for Christmas if you buy straight from Apple…

If you head to Apple’s Online Store, you’ll see that the company is quoting delivery in the first and second weeks of January – well past the holiday season. This means you’ll have to look elsewhere if you waited until the last-minute to buy AirPods for that special someone this year.

When it comes to buying online, your options are pretty sparse at this point. Best Buy, Verizon, and Sprint all list early January delivery dates or no availability at all. B&H also shows AirPods as back-ordered. AT&T seems to have some availability for 2-day shipping, but be sure to act fast as that could change within a few minutes.

You can also try your luck at carrier retail stores, Best Buy, and Apple Stores. It’s likely that stores get a few units in throughout the week, but you’ll have to arrive early. Using Apple’s pickup option online, all stores 9to5Mac checked show January 5th pickup, though a handful carrier stores we inquired with said they had a few units left, but that they were going fast.

AirPods have faced supply issues since the beginning and Apple seems to be struggling to keep up with the increased holiday demand. Tim Cook said in August that Apple was increasing production of the headphones, and while supply did briefly improve, things have again taken a turn for the worse for last-minute holiday shoppers.

“We have increased production capacity for AirPods and are working very hard to get them to customers as quickly as we can, but we are still not able to meet the strong level of demand,” Cook said at the time.

Of course, AirPods largely missed last Christmas as well. Apple’s W1-powered earbuds didn’t arrive for most people into late December and early January, despite Apple’s initial delayed release.

Are you struggling to find AirPods for someone this year, or were you sure to get them crossed off your list early? Let us know down in the comments.

AirPods Alternatives Available in Time For Christmas:

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