iPhone 4S Sold on Reservation-Only Basis in U.S. & Canadian Apple Retail Stores

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The iPhone 4S is already a success after more than a week of sales. Apple sold 1 million units on the first pre-order day and a total of over 4 million units during the opening weekend. The company is still selling plenty of devices but it looks like the available stock has started to run low.

Apple has already updated its “how to buy” iPhone 4S page to show a temporary change in iPhone 4S sales policy. The company will sell the handset by reservation-only to customers walking in its retail stores in the U.S. and Canada. The page now reads:

iPhone 4S is available in store by reservation only. Reserve yours after 9:00 p.m. tonight for pickup tomorrow. When you come in, you’ll choose a carrier and plan, and we’ll get your iPhone up and running before you leave the store.

According to MacRumors, Apple is still selling iPhone 4S to walk-in customers in certain locations but the available supply is “evaporating.” Apple appears to have prepared appropriately for the iPhone 4S launch and while we have no idea how much iPhone 4S stock its Asian partners shipped prior to October 14 it’s safe to say Apple made sure its opening weekend was a total success. The company has not yet sold out its existing iPhone 4S stock and it’s probably safe to say its suppliers are building as many iPhone units as possible.

Purchasing the iPhone 4S online is also a possibility but interested customers will have to wait “1-2 weeks” for their unit to be shipped. Therefore, those of you that want to get their hands on the handset immediately should head to the closest retail store instead. It’s not yet clear what would happen with walk-in customers that don’t reserve their iPhone 4S in advanced but I think it’s safe to assume Apple will sell the remaining non-reserved iPhone units on a first-come first-served basis hence forward.

Have you purchased an iPhone 4S from an Apple retail store these days?