Stock of the now three year old iPhone 3GS is hitting a low before the reported announcement of the iPhone 5.
Reports say that the stock of 3GS model iPhones are running extremely low in Apple stores around the nation. The purported announcement date of the iPhone 5 is just over a week away, on September 12th. The low stock could hint towards the deprecation of the device, but the 3GS is one of the devices on the roster to receive iOS 6. The report comes from 9to5Mac:
Ahead of Apple’s likely September 12th iPhone-related media event, Apple has warned its retail store Genius Bars of low iPhone 3GS stock. According to a note sent to Genius Bar employees worldwide, “until further notice,” Genius Bars should perform the following for iPhone 3GSs: screen repairs, discuss the advantages of buying a new iPhone, and lastly, swapping out the full iPhone 3GS hardware.
With supplies of the iPhone 3GS so low, Apple even tells employees to swap out affected 3GSs with an iPhone 4 replacement unit. That is if the particular store is completely out of the 3GS…
There have been report of the possibility of a $200 iPhone, but that wasn’t looking to happen till sometime in 2013. The shortage in iPhone 3GS units could mean that Apple is looking to get rid of the 3GS for good, but evidence shows that this is unlikely. Most likely Apple is too busy preparing for the iPhone 5 to worry about its older devices right now.