It’s now October 28th, and if you didn’t get in on the iPhone X pre-order yesterday, you might not be able to get it. The iPhone X is available for pre-order from Apple and its retail partners in more than 55 countries and territories. Which is an impressive number of markets. But that doesn’t mean there will be enough stock to meet the demand. I’ve mentioned this as a pet peeve of mine. I understand holding some back in order to make the launch that much more exciting. But this is the biggest iPhone upgrade in years. One could argue, since the first to second generation even. Most of the iPhone improvements over the years have been just that – improvements. But we’re in new iPhone territory now. Which is why I think it’s not cool of Apple to do this.
Now maybe it’s not their fault. But who else do you blame? They will never tell you how many units they have on hand for their launch, which is frustrating from a consumer perspective. Don’t you think? I mean, knowing how many they had and what their sales were is very interesting. When the cost per phone is around $1000 (without any discounts), those sales figures would be incredible to look at.
One report suggested that Apple would have 2-3 million iPhone X units for the launch. That’s a pretty big range. It’s not like they’re saying they have 5 or 10, that’s a difference of a million. They’re also estimating that they will have more units by Christmas, but is that soon enough? Some are suggesting that Apple might only produce 20 million units this year. Which is half of their original goal for 2017. So without those figures from Apple, we have no idea how impactful this phone is really going to be.
It’s also not surprising that the phone is selling out worldwide. The 64 GB model is selling rather quickly because it was cheaper. Shipping time has changed since yesterday- first estimating it will take 1 or 2 weeks. Then dropping to 2-3 weeks. Followed by 4-5 weeks, and now the estimate is 5-6 weeks. How is that even possible? Or am I just being too hard on Apple with this one? In a press release a few days ago, Apple has said that all of its stores will have iPhone X stock on November 3rd, but it’s also advising buyers to come in early in order to get one.
Some people who stayed up to get in on the pre-order in the wee hours of October 27, found that it was extremely difficult. One account noted that they had used an iPad Pro, an iPhone 8 Plus (that’s hardcore) and a MacBook Pro and still had to refresh and force quit the Apple Store app. Some even suggested that the pre-order process for the iPhone X was much smoother than the pre-order for the iPhone 7. Which is interesting as this is the most anticipated phone in quite some time. Perhaps it was because they had refined the process since the iPhone 7?
Either way, getting your hands on an iPhone X seems to be rather difficult. And I get it – it is a really cool phone and everyone wants to have the latest and greatest. But is it worth it if you have to wait 6 weeks to have it shipped? Delivery dates may change as Apple sorts through duplicated orders and the company further refines its supply. I’m a bit disappointed in this, in general. They need more units! That being said, if you pre-ordered an iPhone X yesterday, let us know how it went for you. Did you run into these problems? Or was it smooth sailing for you?