Because pre-ordering started at 8 a.m. Eastern, not 3 a.m., I thought I’d thought I’d try to get in on the first shipment.
Right off, couldn’t make sense of the offer from Verizon, a company that has not earned my trust. Settled on the $450 Apple was offering me for my one-year-old iPhone 11 Pro. Then came a series of error messages that set me back to the beginning of the pre-order process. When I finally managed to open my virtual shopping bag I found it contained three iPhones, three Apple Cares and two MagSafe chargers. By the time that was sorted out I was looking at Election Day delivery at the earliest.
I’ve seen worse. Much worse. But remind me next time not to try.
Speaking of MagSafe, here’s Joy of Tech.
So I’m likely to go the PED route, buy directly from Apple. I might trade in my phone with Apple, or try to sell it elsewhere. Probably will do the trade-in, as the ‘path of least resistance.’ If nothing else, it’ll give me a charge to put onto a new credit card, where I get a pile of points if I spend $1k in the first 3 months. 🙂 🙂
12 pro on Verizon.
No rush. New phone comes out of box, old phone goes in – RIP Apple Leather cases, you were the best.
I’ve used the upgrade program for years and it goes through fine. Delivery is next Friday.
The only change this year is I charged it on Apple Pay using my brand new Apple card for the first time. So I’ll get 3% back.
Also this year I bought it with one payment instead of monthly. They’ll give me $450 credit for my old iPhone 11 Pro.
I miss their leather case. That’s a disappointment.
I just realized something. Remember the $30 people are charge for completely unlocked phone if they buy directly from Apple instead of a carrier?
If you buy a $999 iPhone 12 Pro with Apple Card, you get that $30 back. Hmmm. Related or coincidental?
Going through your episode is like birthing a baby (so I’ve heard).
The moment after the delivery you’ve forgotten all the pain and are then in rapture…
…or let’s say something close to it.
😉
In short, overpromise and underdeliver. Mightily.
Instead of dealing with them, take the lower friction route of a slightly lower trade in and use Apple’s excellent website or app. It may still have delays since you’re competing with millions on the same servers doing the same thing, but have the satisfaction that Apple gets your money directly. And frankly, the extra few dollars to buy an unlocked iPhone is repaid by higher resale value and buyer flexibility when you do sell it later. Or wait till Costco or Sam’s Club gets their allotments and try your luck in person.
I am delighted that demand seems so high but disappointed in Apple. This is the largest, most powerful IT comopany on the planet and they cannot put in place enough servers to meet demand. In a previous career as an IT manager I suspect I would be facing very tough questiuons from my boss and the sales people!
Unfortunately, maybe the network / server / computer bottlenecks are there for a purpose, to slow down transactions and spread out orders.
Yes, problem has always been with the telcos inability to ramp up their systems for the surge. And upgrade program is great and allows Apple to get around the telco incompetence with pre approval.
Will be getting up at 5 AM in November for the Pro Max upgrade — Pro Max for incredible computational photography us photographers love as carry around cameras.
But 5 AM, grumble.
So my experience was entirely using Apple’s own servers and system. It was grossly overloaded and apparently brought to its knees for hours. The system was unable to meet what I would have thought was a fairly predictable surge in demand.
My research shows that Western Oz and China are on the same time zone, while Eastern and Central Oz have a two hours and one hour head start, respectively.
For the benfit of my American friends we Australians pronounce the latter two cities’ names as Melbin and Brizzbin. Folklore says that’s because we used to keep our lips as close together as possible while speaking to avoid flys getting in.
FYI: 50% or more of smartphones sold in Australia are iPhones. Oddly enough I rarely see anyone using an Android phone – but they must be out there somewhere.