AirPods are out of stock online until after the holidays

Online shoppers scrambling to grab a pair of Apple’s AirPods in time for the holiday gift-giving season are out of luck. Apple’s online store says buyers can expect delivery around the first and second weeks of January.

The same goes for retailers like Best Buy, B&H, Adorama, Target, and Walmart, which are all waiting on more shipments. Best Buy estimates that AirPods will arrive to consumers by January 4th, while B&H won’t give an estimate because of how many backorders it’s received. Carriers like Verizon and Sprint are similarly out of stock.

Those looking for some last-minute AirPods will have to trek to physical stores with limited stocks. Apple Stores in New York, Florida, and a few other cities remain well-stocked as of this writing, while the rest state the accessory will become available for pickup by January 5th.

Although AirPods resemble the heads of electric toothbrushes (to me, anyway), they’re still a useful accessory for escaping the world of dongles and an obvious gift choice for many. And it seems that between the Black Friday shopping mania and this final stretch before the holidays, the demand simply outstripped supply. The supply of AirPods has faced plenty of road bumps since its delayed inception at the end of last year. The limited quantities of AirPods combined with the delayed release meant that Apple missed Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa last year, too.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment. So if AirPods are a must-get for your shopping list, you’d better start heading out to the stores.