If you have not pre-ordered your iPhone 13 yet, you will probably have a while to wait. As of this writing, Apple has sold out of every iPhone 13 model. This isn’t exactly a unique occurrence, but it is interesting given the previous reports suggesting that only 10% of Apple’s current smartphone customers would be upgrading to the iPhone 13.
A Bumpy Pre-Order Process
One thing that was different about this year’s iPhone pre-order was the difficulty Apple Card users had with their orders. Early in the day on September 17, shoppers trying to make their iPhone Upgrade Program purchases using an Apple Card weren’t able to do so.
That issue was so serious that the problem quickly became one of the top trending topics on Twitter. By mid afternoon, Apple had the issue resolved. Many people had already resorted to using different credit cards at that point, potentially missing out on the 3% cash back offered by Apple Card.
Late Upgrades Means Lengthy Delay for All iPhone 13 Models
As of this writing, shipping dates for the iPhone 13 Pro models have slipped to mid-October. For example, if you wanted to order a graphite iPhone 13 Pro with 128GB of storage, it would not deliver until sometime between October 19 and October 26.
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini show slightly faster delivery dates. Even so, if you order your iPhone 13 today, the earliest you’ll see delivery is October 5. Availability of some iPhone 13 devices is better if you have an Apple Store near enough to pick up your new phone. That’s still a hit or miss option; the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 mini have better in-store availability than the Pro and Pro Max.