If You Haven’t Ordered an iPhone X Yet… Read This!

Dr. Mac’s Rants & Raves

Episode #251

Apple began taking orders for its new iPhone X, which it calls, “the future,” last Friday. If you haven’t placed your order yet, don’t expect to see the future anytime soon.

Here’s the story: For weeks, we’ve been hearing reports that the iPhone X would be in very short supply until early 2018. I normally don’t put a lot of stock in Internet rumors, but in this case, there were too many to ignore. I assumed that if I didn’t place an order in the first few minutes (2:00 AM Central on Friday, October 27), I wouldn’t receive it on the first day they’d be available (Friday, November 3).

Friday, October 27, 2017, 1:30 AM

I set my alarm last Thursday for 1:30 AM. That would allow me to wake up, and place my order right at 2 AM Central. Unfortunately, when my alarm sounded at 1:30 AM, I made the executive decision to go back to sleep. I figured I’d order it in the morning, and get it two or three weeks.

Alas, when I woke up and tried to place my order, I discovered that the model I preferred—a 256GB iPhone X in Space Gray—wouldn’t ship for 5-6 weeks. I considered ordering a different color or capacity, but the other combinations—256GB Silver, 64GB Silver, and 64GB Space Gray—were also not shipping for 5-6 weeks.

At 9 AM Friday Apple estimated 5–6 weeks for an iPhone X to ship.

That was last Friday (10/27) at 9:00 AM. By the time you read this, chances are your iPhone X won’t ship until 2018. At that point, I deliberated long and hard. Did I want to place an order now and ensure my place in line, even if it meant waiting 5-6 weeks? Or, did I think I might find an iPhone X at my local Apple or T-Mobile store sooner?

I reviewed the list of new features yet again, got cold feet a couple of times, and almost gave up at least twice. I mean, I’m perfectly comfortable with Touch ID and the Home button on my iPhone 8 Plus. And its camera is stupendous. I’m not even sure I’ll like Face ID, much less the idea of swiping up instead of pressing the Home button.

But I digress. I spent much of Friday morning with my finger poised over the order button and, after much deliberation, I was about to order from Apple and settle in for my 5 or 6-week wait when I decided it was prudent to check the T-Mobile site first, just in case.

Friday, October 27, 2017, 10:00 AM

It’s a good thing I did. At 10:00 AM Friday morning, whilst Apple was showing a 5-6 week wait, I placed an order with T-Mobile for a 256GB Space Gray iPhone X that’s scheduled to ship between Nov 3 and Nov 10 (with free 2-day delivery).

T-Mobile’s “shipping between Nov 3-10” is way better than Apple’s current estimate of 5-6 weeks…

Tuesday, October 31, 1:30 PM

Nothing has changed since Friday. My iPhone is still shipping between Nov 3 and 10. The moral of the story: Check your wireless carrier’s delivery dates before you place an order with Apple. My iPhone X from T-Mobile should arrive 3-4 weeks before one from Apple ordered at the same time.

What could possibly go wrong? If anything does, you’ll be among the first to know. 🙂

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