William Gallagher
Within minutes of iPhone 14 preorders starting, and through a troublesome Apple Store, shipping dates for the iPhone 14 Pro Max have already slipped.
Apple began taking preorders for the iPhone 14 range at 8 a.m. ET and after ten minutes, shipping dates the 512GB iPhone 14 Pro Max had slipped back. Originally shipping by September 16, after ten minutes it was October 3, and after half an hour, it was October 10.
And all of this was while the Apple Store online wasn't performing well. Apple's content network was unusually slow to roll out in some areas, with the App Store app not going live as quickly as the desktop version did.
iPhone 14
Additionally, users complained of Apple Pay problems, cancelled orders, payment failures, and other issues preventing ordering.
After 45 minutes, and through all the problems, all colors and all storage configurations of the iPhone 14 Pro Max had slipped back to being shipped between October 3 and October 10.
Unusually, none of the other models have seen any shipping delays at all.
Note that Apple always reserves some stock to be sold in stores. At present most configurations of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, are showing in-store pickup availability from September 18.
The iPhone 14 Plus will not hit customers' doorsteps until October 7. Currently in-store pickup is available from then, too.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
Oliver Haslam
Andrew O'Hara
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
25 Comments
No issues here. Ordered 2 pro max and AirPods and was done by 8:05 EST.
I just placed my order for a Pro Max with in store pickup for the 16th of September. When I went back to check on it, it had changed to October 3-10 delivery.
Sigh
... why is ordering an iPhone always flawless, or a total nightmare?
Tried to order a Pro Max/Purple/512GB/AT&T/Applecare + Loss and Theft/Apple Pay up front for delivery and it took me over half an hour to get the site responding correctly (no invalid links, etc) and it unbeknownst to me put the order under an Apple ID I haven't used in years and no longer exists.
Got no verification email and it wasn't listed under my equipment purchase ID (which is also my primary Apple ID) so I tried to use another path through the online store and put in another order, expecting this order to come out under my main Apple ID. Checked that ID and there were still no pending orders under that ID.
Then the verification email came in for the first purchase.
Checked the recipient email ID and found both orders were under that no-longer-existing Apple ID - and I can't cancel the second order because that Apple ID no longer exists so I can't log in and use an automated process, and none of the phone numbers for order assistance are working.
Sooo ... I guess I'll have to wait until the rush is over and try to get hold of a human being to the get first order moved to my main Apple ID and the second cancelled.
BTW, the first order has a ship date of September 28 - October 3, and the second October 3 - October 10 - so those ship dates are slipping rapidly.
Of course some of the slippage may be due to duplicate orders (like mine), so who knows what the real delivery date will eventually be.
Interesting how (according to the article) only the Pro Max is affected - I wonder if because of the economy Apple was expecting fewer orders of their most expensive offering and therefore made fewer of them.
Even on a bad day, the online experience beats the in-store experience by a large margin. The last two times I bought an iPhone (one for me, one for a gift), it took around an hour in the store, despite the fact that I knew exactly what I wanted when I walked in the door. Both times I was in too much of a rush to wait for delivery of an online purchase, but it seemed crazy to me that I couldn’t just hand someone my credit card and walk out the door a few minutes later, the way you can in most retail stores when you know what you want, are ready to pay, and they have it in stock. Instead you find one person who can put your name on a list to talk to a salesperson, wait a long time for them, then talk to them, wait a while for the device to be sent out from a back room…
I’m hoping to never be in a position again where I have to buy a phone in a hurry, but sometimes your phone just dies and you don’t have a lot of options. I guess maybe the purpose is to force you to stand around with nothing to do but play with other Apple devices, in the hope that you’ll buy more stuff? It may also be faster if you buy online for in-store pickup, but I bet you still have to wait a while to talk to the person who can help you.
I set my pre order yesterday and it literally ordered on the store App in 30 seconds….