My “pre approval, speed through pre order” experience was 57 minutes about 30 retries, and apple kept rejecting the Apple Card about 15+ Attempts. Visa worked on the 7th attempt with that card. Citizen one kept denying my preapproval about 5+ attempts, etc. the app kept failing cc payment saying to check the red fields which were always entered correctly. while this is not as bad as the iPhone 4 preorder, it’s up there.
For those who don’t recall iPhone 4 pre order via ATT had to be done on pencil and paper. The computers couldn’t be fixed for a couple weeks.
In 3rd place was when the iPhone upgrade program had to be done by hand. Orders went through and then customers notified it failed hours later. They called everyone the following week and had to do it over the phone by hand. Apple did make that right and reset everyone’s place in line. Mine went from release day to mid December. They did get it to me on release day.
For a phone that at first review has the smallest incremental improvement of any iPhone generation, I’m surprised there is still such a huge demand.
Not sure I agree with the comment about smallest incremental improvement, but stipulating to it for argument’s sake, most people who aren’t already paying a premium to be in the annual upgrade program aren’t comparing this model to last year’s. They’re making their upgrade decision based on a comparison to a phone they purchased several years ago.
I personally don't agree that the annual update program carries a "premium." It is the price of the phone plus AppleCare paid over 24 months. The advantage to me is that after 12 payments, I can return the phone to Apple; no trade-in or selling the old one required. ( I might get more selling, but I don't really want the hassle). (One could even argue that I was able to get and pay for AppleCare for only 12 months). The annual update program has not caused me any complications in updating.
That being said, the process was slower than last year for me. I first tried going through the Apple Store app but it wasn't letting me in (for 3+ minutes), so I tried online at the Apple Store, which seemed fine, but would not let me click submit on the final screen to purchase. So I went back to the app, and this time I got in; there were some delays, but it went through. All in all, I was done by 8:14 ET, and my iPhone Pro Sierra Blue 256GB will be delivered on the release date -- 9/24.
I personally don't agree that the annual update program carries a "premium." It is the price of the phone plus AppleCare paid over 24 months. The advantage to me is that after 12 payments, I can return the phone to Apple; no trade-in or selling the old one required. ( I might get more selling, but I don't really want the hassle). (One could even argue that I was able to get and pay for AppleCare for only 12 months). The annual update program has not caused me any complications in updating.
That being said, the process was slower than last year for me. I first tried going through the Apple Store app but it wasn't letting me in (for 3+ minutes), so I tried online at the Apple Store, which seemed fine, but would not let me click submit on the final screen to purchase. So I went back to the app, and this time I got in; there were some delays, but it went through. All in all, I was done by 8:14 ET, and my iPhone Pro Sierra Blue 256GB will be delivered on the release date -- 9/24.
I've found the Apple trade-In value and purchasing Apple Care monthly equates to the same thing w/o "the program" and the biggest advantage is I don't have to wait until my phone is >= 12 months old, which was a problem w/the iPhone X (I think) where I had to wait until October.
I personally don't agree that the annual update program carries a "premium." It is the price of the phone plus AppleCare paid over 24 months. The advantage to me is that after 12 payments, I can return the phone to Apple; no trade-in or selling the old one required. ( I might get more selling, but I don't really want the hassle). (One could even argue that I was able to get and pay for AppleCare for only 12 months). The annual update program has not caused me any complications in updating.
That being said, the process was slower than last year for me. I first tried going through the Apple Store app but it wasn't letting me in (for 3+ minutes), so I tried online at the Apple Store, which seemed fine, but would not let me click submit on the final screen to purchase. So I went back to the app, and this time I got in; there were some delays, but it went through. All in all, I was done by 8:14 ET, and my iPhone Pro Sierra Blue 256GB will be delivered on the release date -- 9/24.
There are probably different ways of accounting for that program, but the difference in what you might get for a year-old trade-in is where a premium likely exists (estimated difference is ~$120 for a 128GB iPhone pro). This isn’t an argument hill I’m going to die on, and the idea that there’s a premium for annual upgrade isn’t a judgement. The hassle of not facilitating the trade in is, as you’ve said, worth the cost to you.
FWIW I did not encounter any issues pre-ordering using the Apple Store app during the first 30 minutes after orders started this morning. I took my time and looked at the different carrier offers and payment plans. No errors and no retries. It felt pretty normal, and only the payment processing took a little longer than normal to go through, probably due to the system getting hammered, but it completed in less than a minute. I used an Apple Card, which I had applied for at the same time.
The funny thing is, I don't recall making a conscious choice about using the Apple Store app; it's just very convenient for Apple purchases.
Even before I completed the order, I knew the ship date going to be first week of October, but that's fine. I ordered a silver/white 13 Pro with the largest storage option.
FWIW I did not encounter any issues pre-ordering using the Apple Store app during the first 30 minutes after orders started this morning. I took my time and looked at the different carrier offers and payment plans. No errors and no retries. It felt pretty normal, and only the payment processing took a little longer than normal to go through, probably due to the system getting hammered, but it completed in less than a minute. I used an Apple Card, which I had applied for at the same time.
The funny thing is, I don't recall making a conscious choice about using the Apple Store app; it's just very convenient for Apple purchases.
Even before I completed the order, I knew the ship date going to be first week of October, but that's fine. I ordered a silver/white 13 Pro with the largest storage option.
I have a feeling there was much less stock of the 1TB versions. I was finally able to use AC to complete my pre-order at ~8:18, and I'm seeing a 10/6-10/11 delivery window.
My wife and I both ordered the Pro Max. We’re in Canada so took advantage of the 0% financing they recently added.
However there was apparently a glitch and financing was for 6 months when it was previously 24 months. Then it suddenly changed back to 24 months. Also there were issues with Paybright (who Apple partnered with) that might have been related. So we didn’t order until the afternoon and are stuck waiting until mid October for our phones.
No matter, waiting a few weeks is not really an issue. Don’t need to rush out to the Bubble Tea shops to show off that I got my iPhone on launch day.
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I haven't found any value in using the annual upgrade program and it seems to complicate the process.
That being said, the process was slower than last year for me. I first tried going through the Apple Store app but it wasn't letting me in (for 3+ minutes), so I tried online at the Apple Store, which seemed fine, but would not let me click submit on the final screen to purchase. So I went back to the app, and this time I got in; there were some delays, but it went through. All in all, I was done by 8:14 ET, and my iPhone Pro Sierra Blue 256GB will be delivered on the release date -- 9/24.
The funny thing is, I don't recall making a conscious choice about using the Apple Store app; it's just very convenient for Apple purchases.
Even before I completed the order, I knew the ship date going to be first week of October, but that's fine. I ordered a silver/white 13 Pro with the largest storage option.
I'm upgrading from a 4-year-old model.
I have a feeling there was much less stock of the 1TB versions. I was finally able to use AC to complete my pre-order at ~8:18, and I'm seeing a 10/6-10/11 delivery window.
However there was apparently a glitch and financing was for 6 months when it was previously 24 months. Then it suddenly changed back to 24 months. Also there were issues with Paybright (who Apple partnered with) that might have been related. So we didn’t order until the afternoon and are stuck waiting until mid October for our phones.
No matter, waiting a few weeks is not really an issue. Don’t need to rush out to the Bubble Tea shops to show off that I got my iPhone on launch day.