Anyone who even slightly delayed ordering the new iPhone 15 Pro models when they went on sale Friday morning faces a lengthy wait for their devices to be delivered. The delays extend into November for some handsets and configurations.
In addition, problems marred the preorder process via the online Apple Store, possibly due to high demand for the new titanium Pro phones.
The early bird gets the iPhone 15 Pro
Apple unveiled the entire iPhone 15 series on September 12 at the Wonderlust event, and the four new handsets went up for preorder on this morning at 5 a.m. Pacific.
It seems plenty of buyers set their alarm clocks to put in a preorder. They were likely aware that, in previous years, day-one iPhone demand exceeded Apple’s supply of devices. When that happens, customers must endure long wait times to take delivery of their new handsets.
History repeated itself with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
Those who ordered one of the two versions soon after they became available can look forward to it arriving on September 22. Those who waited to put in an order until now won’t receive the smartphones on launch day. How long the delay will be depends on the model and the configuration the buyer chooses.
iPhone 15 Pro Max is in high demand
Three hours after the product went on sale, the base 256GB model iPhone 15 Pro Max in natural titanium and white titanium ordered from the online Apple store won’t be delivered until between November 6 and Nov. 13. The other two color options arrive between October 16 and October 23. Buyers of configurations with additional storage are also looking at month-long waits, with no option available before the middle of October.
At this point, the base 128GB model iPhone 15 Pro in most colors ordered now won’t be delivered until the first or second week of October, depending on color. That said, the blue titanium option is still available to pick up on September 22 in some Apple stores. Some versions with increased storage are still available on launch day, but most require a wait.
Pink iPhone 15 Plus shipping times slip, too
For the most part, Apple hasn’t yet run through its prelaunch supply of either the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus. In most configurations, both are available for delivery or in-store pickup on September 22. The exception is the iPhone 15 Plus in pink. It’s not available for delivery in any configuration on launch day, with waits stretching into early October. In-store pickup on Sept. 22 is available, though.
The difference in supply between the premium and standard models isn’t surprising — starting with the iPhone 14 series, market analysts say the premium Pro models prove more popular with shoppers than the standard ones. That trend seems to be continuing.
Apple Store bungles the launch
Apple scheduled iPhone 15 preorders to begin at 5 a.m. Pacific, as noted. But it took close to 10 minutes after that time before its website actually let people begin placing their orders. Then the slow and glitchy preorder process plagued many shoppers with error messages as they tried to buy one of the new devices.
The Apple Store application might even have been worse. Those attempting to use it were frequently told, “An error occurred trying to fulfill your request. Please try again later.”
Jankiest iPhone launch since iPhone 6 pic.twitter.com/XrbEE0bQpQ
— Basic Apple Guy (@BasicAppleGuy) September 15, 2023
At this point, it’s not clear if the problems were a result of demand for the iPhone 15 series far exceeding Apple’s expectations, or if something went wrong on Apple’s servers.
