Sales of the iPhone 5 seem to be surging in all of the available 31 markets. Many would be hard pressed to buy one due to dwindling stock in the United States and other countries. Mapgate seems to be a non-factor.
Though customer satisfaction rating did take a hit, Apple’s CEO preemptive apology looks to help the brand in the long run. Tim Cook’s apology as well as his recommending third-party map apps – something Apple rarely does – seems to be helping. Topeka analyst Brian White says, “Longer term, we believe this apology will help Apple further its brand of trust with customers and it is only a matter of time before the company delivers a great map experience.”
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is quoted as saying, “Demand remains high, The bottom line is that consumers do not seem to be overly concerned about the shortcomings of Maps.” He surveyed 20 Apple stores in the United States and found only four of them had iPhone 5 in inventory.
iDownloadBlog also confirms that the demand is high in Germany with stores selling out within hours of receiving new stock. It seems not to be a big issue for the majority of consumers.