It looks like AirPods aren’t going to make it in time for Christmas for most online shoppers—or even the new year.
Apple’s first wireless earphones debuted on Apple’s online store today. Within the first couple hours of the announcement, the estimated shipping date slipped from Dec. 21 to Dec. 29. Not long after, it got worse: as of this writing, the estimated shipping date is ”4 weeks.”
Unveiled alongside the new headphone jack-less iPhone 7 line in September, the AirPods were supposed to be available for purchase in late October. But by the end of that month, Apple’s website had changed the release date to an ambiguous “coming soon.” The delay was reportedly due to the fact that the company was still figuring out how to send signals to two independent earpieces without compromising transmission to either side. In addition, the built-in microphone was reportedly unable to block out excess background noise when picking up a user’s voice.
Whether the most recent delay is due to more technical glitches, lack of supply, or other reasons is not clear. Some Reddit users say they managed to place their orders while delivery estimates were still at Dec. 21. Apple did not respond to Quartz’s request for comment, and the company’s website does still say that AirPods are expected to be available in Apple stores by next week.
Savor your wired alternatives until your $159 AirPods arrive: The chargeable earphones only last five hours at a time. (Or as Quartz’s Nikhil Sonnad put it: long enough to listen to The Beatles’ White Album all the way through—twice.) And you can avoid the added headache of charging yet another Apple accessory or losing one half of the pair for another month.