

Apple Reportedly Increasing Gold iPhone 5s Production in Wake of Launch Demand - taigeair
http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/20/iphone-5s-gold-launch-demand/

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untog
I'm quite sure they manufactured fewer gold iPhones. It's a win-win. They get
to test out the market for a new color before making a ton of them, _and_ this
now helps to create the perception of exclusivity around the phone.

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taigeair
This is really interesting to me. I was actually asking a lot of my friends
which colour they'd buy. No one admitted they'd buy the gold one but I
believed most people would buy it because iPhone is status - just like why the
Prius had so much success because it stood out and solar panels are installed
so other people can see them, not for optimal sunlight.

I think this is the case here.

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selmnoo
The gold color seems unreasonably ostentatious, I mean, how many times do you
see a car painted a golden color? Not often, it's too far out. People would be
more embarrassed having a golden-plated car than feel good about it as if it's
signaling wealth.

So, I expect the demand for golden iPhones to be high only in very specific
subsets of people, not among normal people trying to signal a high status.
People also want to signal class in addition to wealth.

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dan1234
The gold colour is actually a lot more subtle in real life than I'd expected,
it's not really that ostentatious.

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jbigelow76
Wasn't gold originally supposed to be called "champagne" or was that media
speculation on a different hue? A champagne color is definitely more muted
than straight up "gold".

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bdevine
It was probably media speculation. Since "Champagne" is well-known to be
trademarked (only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region can technically
be called Champagne), Apple likely never intended to call the gold version a
champagne color. I never saw any leaked material from Apple referring to it as
such, at least. It seems like the media settled on calling it champagne and
the Champagne gatekeepers preemptively made noise about it[1], thus adding
fuel to the fire.

[1]
[https://twitter.com/Champagne/status/370623172166430720](https://twitter.com/Champagne/status/370623172166430720)

~~~
r00fus
Well played by Apple. Vaporous controversy = free earned media.

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beedogs
It's the only way to easily differentiate the 5s from the 5 at a glance. A lot
of people want others to know they have the new one, no matter how tacky it
makes them look.

~~~
r00fus
No, the silver home button/touchid ring is pretty distinctive as well... but
only if you can see the front of the phone.

Plus most folks now have cases, too.

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bitwize
They should have offered the gold one at three times the price.

and brought back "I Am Rich" as a 5s gold exclusive

that would really set apart the high rollers

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MWil
I had the golden n64 controller that came with the gold Ocarina of Time
cartridge. That was probably the last time I felt special because of a paint
job. This is just people wanting to show they have the new and not the old
like others have said.

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glhaynes
Or they like the way it looks.

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rcconf
I lined up for a 5S today and they actually had absolutely no golds. So the
supply is obviously really low; I had to go with the black version.

(and I was the very first person in line.)

~~~
RKearney
Same here. Nashville, Tennessee.

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mikeash
This is all supply, not demand. I'm sure demand is huge (it sure sounds like
it), but there just aren't very many available. The store where I was this
morning had literally ten units available in gold, and that was it. They had
hundreds of the others. I've been hearing the same sort of thing from all
over. Even if gold was half as popular as the other two 5S choices, it still
would have sold out instantaneously.

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joezydeco
And now there will be extra demand created as word gets out about this one
model being scarce.

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gmays
The location I was at (a Verizon store) didn't even have any in gold
available.

I just picked up my 5s (silver/white) and it's incredible. My wife has the 5,
and the 5s is surprisingly better. I stopped by about 30min before the store
opened and there were only about 20 people in line, so figured why not and
just caught up on email while I waited, it went pretty fast. The Apple stores
are all slammed, but the other retailers aren't too bad.

~~~
r00fus
Carriers already whined about 5S supply issues using adverbs like
"grotesquely" \- quite telling of their state of mind.

[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/17/iphone-5s-supply-
will...](http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/17/iphone-5s-supply-will-
reportedly-be-grotesquely-low)

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andrewljohnson
I bought the gold because it's easiest to distinguish from all the older
devices (we have them all for business).

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fooyc
Surely people love the C3PO character from Star Wars, and want the same color
on their iPhone.

[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUA7NhCIcAEHxWO.jpg:large](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUA7NhCIcAEHxWO.jpg:large)

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rbritton
On the online store the gold ones are the only ones showing that they're now
shipping in October rather than 7-10 days. I ordered my space gray one last
night and got 1-3 days.

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cabbeer
It reminds me of when the gold motorola razr came out. It was by far the most
desired.

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chiph
Is it real gold, or titanium nitride?

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rorrr2
Just checked on eBay buy-it-now:

    
    
        5s gold:   $786 (just one), every other one is above $914
    
        5s silver: $816 (just one), every other one is above $915
    
        5s grey:   $832 (just one), every other one is above $867
    

Gold doesn't seem very different.

