iPad Mini Sells Out in Two Hours at Apple's Flagship Fifth Avenue Retail Store
While reports have indicated that launch-day lines for the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad have been shorter than seen for many previous Apple product launches, some Apple retail stores are still seeing long lines. Fortune notes that despite the impact of Hurricane Sandy in the northeastern United States, Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan saw over 800 people in line as the store opened at 10:00 AM, two hours later than originally planned.
According to the records Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster has been keeping since 2008 (see below), that's more customers than turned out for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S.
And by 9:56 a.m. -- four minutes before the doors finally opened -- I counted 801 men, women and children. Only the iPhone 4 (1,300) and iPad 2 (1,190) drew bigger crowds.
Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White is also at the Fifth Avenue store and has been monitoring availability of the various models. According to White, all three models of the white Wi-Fi iPad mini sold out in a little over an hour, with the black models following suit after about two hours. No additional shipments are expected at the store today.
We are at Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City and our checks now indicate that all of the White & Silver iPad mini models sold out at around 11:15 AM. We estimate that the 16GB and 64GB were sold out by 10:30 AM ET and the 32GB sold out at around 11:15 AM ET. [...]
As of 11:40 AM ET, both the 16GB and 32GB Black & Slate iPad mini models were sold out at the Fifth Avenue NYC store; while we estimate the 64GB iPad mini sold out at around 12:10 PM ET.
A similar pattern was seen in online pre-orders, with the white models selling out in just 17 minutes and the black models taking a few days to run out of availability.
Popular Stories
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
