Apple 's iPhone 5S.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Consumers who buy the iPhone 5S from Apple ‘s online store now have to wait just a day or less before it ships.

The new wait time of “within 24 hours” applies to all capacities and flavors of the 5S, both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi+Cellular through AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. The unlocked version through T-Mobile shows a ship time of one to three business days, while the unlocked, SIM-free edition imposes a wait of three to five days.

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The new ship time reveals Apple ‘s and its suppliers increasing progress at meeting heavy iPhone demand. The estimate had dropped to one to three days just late last week, which was down from two to three weeks on November 19.

The 5S also is more readily available on the shelves of Apple ‘s retail stores. A survey of 60 Apple stores conducted last week by Piper Jaffray ana… [Read more]