Launch Day Reaction Mixed as iPhone 7 Shipping Estimates Improve but Some Reservations Turned Away

[vicsara]

iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launch fever has officially reached the U.S. and Canada, with the first pre-order deliveries and in-store availability beginning around 8:00 a.m. from coast to coast. Despite limited to no iPhone 7 Plus or iPhone 7 in Jet Black stock, long queues have still formed at many Apple retail stores in both countries.

Apple Eaton Centre in Toronto, for example, still had hundreds of people waiting in line, with separate queues for those with reservations and walk-in customers. Local news reporters said the iPhone 7 Plus was initially available, despite Apple's statement otherwise, but stock had depleted before 9:00 a.m. local time.

Customers relentless in their search for an iPhone 7 Plus have attempted to visit resellers like AT&T, Best Buy, and Target only to be disappointed, as supply of the 5.5-inch model is virtually nonexistent in any stores on launch day. Apple preemptively warned that demand would outstrip supply as usual, and it has not specified when iPhone 7 Plus and Jet Black availability will improve.

Meanwhile, investment firm Piper Jaffray counted around 400 people in line at Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York, down from around 650 for the iPhone 6s/6s Plus and some 1,880 for the iPhone 6/6 Plus. It cited three reasons it believes contributed to the shorter line this year: an increasing trend towards online pre-orders, the lack of iPhone 7 Plus stock, and fewer overseas resellers.

Elsewhere, the investment firm counted 45 people waiting at Mall of America, down from 60 people a year ago, and another 34 waiting at Apple Uptown, compared to 36 in line last year. Both stores are located in the Minneapolis area. MacRumors readers have shared photos of similar lines of various lengths in other locations, including the West County Center shopping mall in St. Louis pictured below.

Launch day reaction has been decidedly mixed, as some customers are beginning to see improved pre-order shipping estimates, while some others that reserved a new iPhone through Apple's Reserve and Pick Up or iPhone Upgrade Program were told their order could not be fulfilled today and forced to walk away empty handed.

MacRumors reader Chicagofan00, who pre-ordered a 256GB iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black from Verizon, said his shipping estimate has been bumped up to Monday, compared to an initial September 26 to October 3 estimate.MacRumors reader Michael is one of several readers that has contacted us about an unfulfilled reservation, with some others sharing similar experiences in our discussion forums as launch day continues.Apple will resume in-store reservations on September 17 at 12:01 a.m. local time in the U.S., at 8:00 a.m. local time in Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong, and at 6:00 a.m. local time in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K., which should provide a bird's-eye view of in-store stock.

Article Link: Launch Day Reaction Mixed as iPhone 7 Shipping Estimates Improve but Some Reservations Turned Away

Walked to TMobile targeted Store in a small neighborhood where people still use flip phone walked out with iPhone 7Plus 128 GB

 

[TallManNY]

Multi million item delivery on one specific day world wide. Customer shows up first thing on that day. And:

"They have no idea when it will come in but said it could be next week. Very disappointed in Apple."

Shockingly, something goes wrong. Of course this is a tragedy.

 

[igrover]

So you didn't get a phone at all?

Yes I did - my matte black 128gb phone was in stock.

Also many people in line were asking if the store had the jet black on display and they said no.

 

[pgharavi]

Happy to hear that, happier still to receive the email notifying me that my phone is ready for pickup. Just waiting to finish up with some clients and then it's straight to the mall to pick up my new 7.

Haven't got my email to come in yet. 7+ 32GB regular black. Pre-ordered from Bestbuy.com on 9/9 soon after midnight, for in-store pick-up. :\

 

[lordofthereef]

I was surprised to see almost no line at my store. I came to see if they had a Watch I wanted (they did). There were maybe 30 people in mine for iPhone at 8:30am.

 

[MS_Hedrick]

Pure conjecture. And wrong. I had to wait two months for my 6+. As did many others.

Astonishing many think Apple has infinite manufacturing capacity, as do the the many suppliers that source parts that go into the phones.

Likely they are people who have never been involved with or have a clue about manufacturing complex high-value products that will sell 200+ million units a year - roughly more than 1/2 million phones per day.

Edit: In addition to the above there's also test, packaging, shipping, and distribution to stores.

Overall it's an amazing feat.

People who gotta have the new iPhone will have it by Christmas. There's no money being left on the table, Apple will see to that.

It's not about Launch Day.

Meanwhile the whole process can ramp up. Demand can be measured, suppliers can be pinched, orders can be placed with precision.

Margins can be maximized.

Who's buying something else? Certainly not the majority.

 

[lordofthereef]

Oh no, someone's b-day party pictures won't be awesome because they don't have the latest iPhone. Apparently he must have an iPhone, 3G or 3GS that is terrible.

Yesterday the 6s was king. Today it's just a pos paperweight.
[doublepost=1474055396][/doublepost]

People who gotta have the new iPhone will have it by Christmas. There's no money being left on the table, Apple will see to that.

It's not about Launch Day.

Meanwhile the whole process can ramp up. Demand can be measured, suppliers can be pinched, orders can be placed with precision.

Margins can be maximized.

Who's buying something else? Certainly not the majority.

Idk. People were saying Samsung messed up and people will flock to Apple. I don't think either "absolute" is accurate. I've heard very few note owners actually say they're doing anything other than getting the replacement note. I imagine most iPhone owners will stick with iPhone.

 

[639051]

But if I can't have mine now then nobody should have theirs now either!
It's not fair!
I'm running away!
I hate you mom!

/s

Starting to feel like that's what it is here.

 

[JosephAW]

Yet mysteriously many Apple employees were able to locate and purchase an iPhone 7 plus 256 later that day. What a mystery!

 

[JohnPhamlore]

Apple probably thought that everybody knew that next years IP8+ will be a smaller footprint, (when they get rid of the top and bottom bezel and home button) and would give it a miss. I did...

You do know that the IP7 is the last IP with a button (fake as it is..)? It will be on the screen pretty much as it is now really, but without the fake button 'look'.

I will be upgrading to the IP8+ for that reason, as I will get the screen size I want, but not the bulk I cannot live with right now.

Even when Steve Jobs was in charge, it was common folk wisdom to avoid the first year of a greatly re-designed Apple product such as the rumored IP8.

To me the IP7+ is the phone to get because it is both a refined design and because it has major spec upgrades in the processor, RAM, and camera. That would easily tide me over until the IP8S which will have whatever major design flaw in the IP8 fixed.

 

[AllergyDoc]

Launch day 2016 essentially sucked. Whoever was in charge of estimating demand for these phones, especially the Plus model, should be demoted.

 

[bigjnyc]

I walked right in to my local Best Buy at noon and grabbed a 7 Plus 128 MB. Some stores have inventory. Luck I guess.

1 video and your storage will be depleted

 

[maxsix]

I walked right in to my local Best Buy at noon and grabbed a 7 Plus 128 MB. Some stores have inventory. Luck I guess.

This may also be a sign of soft demand. No longer lined up by the thousands, the thrill is gone.

 

[michaelrmcneill]

I worked in shipping at Best Buy for several years. I can tell you that everyone in the store knows that iphones are off limits. There are probably only about 2 people in the store that would be allowed to touch them. The shipping lead (me) and the mobile manager. They come overnight shipping straight from apple and we get random models. 90% of them are to fill orders. They are received then placed in a locked cage until our order system prompts us to tag them for proper customer. When we confirm that tag, that is when the system send out the email to alert the customer that their order is ready for pick up.

There is no chance that the phones will go to a walk in customer, unless there is foul play.

Well, hate to break it to you, but you're wrong. Whether they had independent pools for pre-orders vs. walk-ins I don't know. What I do know is that I had a pre-order for a phone that hadn't yet been fulfilled, and I walked in and got it first thing this morning and cancelled the online order. These phones were already locked in a cage and had just regular Best Buy employees handling them. Also, I wasn't the only one that got a walk-in phone, at least 15 other people did as well. Maybe things have changed since you left.

 

[Larry-K]

another year, another man-made supply restrain

One of marketing's basic premises is to create the illusion of scarcity.

 

[LordVic]

This may also be a sign of soft demand. No longer lined up by the thousands, the thrill is gone.

Lineups in front of the stores can't really be used as a determination of demand. Especially in comparison to previous lineups.

it's not 2007 anymore. The internet is far more prevalent as a shopping means than it was back then,and is bigger now than it's ever been in the past. For the first few years of the iPhone's existence in fact, you had to go to a store to buy it. This drove more of the shoppers to stores where they had to lineup

They also didn't have Apple's upgrade program. as many stores as they have today to spread the load around.

and Apple did also set the precedent with the Apple Watch that pre-order and online sales get first dibs over retail (they even didn't have watches in stores for the first week). So many Apple consumers might remember how Apple handled the last launched item, and chose to stay home for this one too


there just aren't enoughd ata points yet to be able to safely say that lower lineups at stores is a cause of lower demand.

 

[gcmexico]

Did you receive an email saying it was available? Are those just auto-generated emails?

? don't really understand the question...I'm in the upgrade program, and reserved my iphone for today...got email comfirming my reservation, my reservation also shows up on my app...lets just hope it's there when I get there

UPDATE!!
just got off the phone with Apple Store and my phone is there waiting for me! SWEET!

 

[Larry-K]

Launch day 2016 essentially sucked. Whoever was in charge of estimating demand for these phones, especially the Plus model, should be demoted.

They should be, but you know they'll be promoted and get more stock options.

 

[fivetoedbear]

Went to the North Michigan Ave store this morning to pick up my 128GB/Matte Black/AT&T/iPhone 7 Plus model today during my 9:00-9:30 iPhone Upgrade program appt. Initially was told that they didn't receive the phone at all and offered me a free case(worthless without a phone) with no idea when the phone would come in. After some discussion they looked around and somehow magically found one in the back. Walked out happy to have gotten a phone but annoyed the whole process took over a hour. I also decided to back out of the iPhone Upgrade program going forward. It is too much of a hassle and decided to pay for my phone outright.

I had a 1:00 pm appointment at North Michigan Avenue for a 256GB/Gold/Verizon/iPhone 7 Plus. I showed up at 12:40 and they put me with the other 1:00 pm people at the end of the line around the corner, and we had to make sure people weren't blocked from getting into M Burger a block away. Eventually they pulled Apple Upgrade Program customers out of the line and put us in a separate line and I think that got me in faster...to wait in the line in the store. Looking at my email, they had me turn off Find My iPhone at 2:11 pm, so that's about when I got to see someone.

The whole time, there were passers-by making snide comments about waiting in line for a phone. But everybody in line had a reservation time, practically an appointment. Something was up, and I don't think it was Apple. The employees were doing a good job of organizing things in spite of a ...something... that was making it slower to help people get their phones.

Once a store employee was able to help, we were done in like 20 minutes. It did involve some time staring at the store employee's device, waiting for Verizon to activate things.

The Apple Upgrade Program went well, and I got a nice receipt showing the credit for my returned phone, the amount of the old loan paid off, etc.

I waived assistance and took the phone back to work, where we have fast internet (and not a store full of people activating and restoring things) to restore the backup from iCloud.

I'm keeping the Apple Upgrade Program. I was one of the people who "got lucky" and was able to reserve a phone last Saturday morning. In retrospect, I might have been able to make an appointment for Monday or Tuesday next week and skipped the first day hiccups. I don't really need the phone the first day, but I'd like to get it before another payment goes in. I figure Apple may take feedback and tidy things up next year. (In fact, one of the store staff said to please give feedback, that Apple will listen. Feedback results in changes that make it easier for the store folks as well.)

 

[Johnny907]

Haven't got my email to come in yet. 7+ 32GB regular black. Pre-ordered from Bestbuy.com on 9/9 soon after midnight, for in-store pick-up. :\

Keep the faith, PG. The manager said Apple ships their orders to them via UPS instead of allowing them to be shipped by normal internal supply chains, so they are at the mercy of whatever UPS driver is delivering them. Sometimes they get there first thing, sometimes it's end of day. If you haven't heard back by 6pm tonight, I'd call and demand your 100 dollar gift card as your order was clearly delayed. Again, I know it's not their fault, but if they are going to offer that to those who chose shipping instead of in-store pickup, it's only fair you get the same treatment.

 

[Larry-K]

Flatirons Crossing Apple Store, Denver area this morning with a 10-10:30 appt for a 128 matte black iphone7. Arrived at 9:30 and did not get to talk with an Apple employee until 10:40am. Employees were announcing to everyone in line that they:

Did not receive any Jet Black iPhones
Did not have any iPhone 7 + in stock
Did not have any Apple Watch for sale

Kind of negates the point of having an Apple Store ("Store, Apple"?), doesn't it?

They did have watchbands, didn't they?

 

[CarlJ]

Apple needs to start manufacturing new iPhones a couple of month earlier, delay launch a couple of months, or do away with stocking iPhones in the Apple stores altogether since you have to order them online.

The vast majority of iPhone buyers do not buy them on launch day/weekend (and those who do tend to congregate at places like MacRumors, making the issue seem like a bigger thing than it is). Otherwise they'd sell hundreds of millions in the fall quarter and zero the rest of the year.

If they started manufacturing iPhones a couple months earlier, they'd be missing one or more key features that were perfected during those last few months. Nobody would like that. Nobody would like your other two suggestions either. Supplies are always constrained at the very beginning, and it has always been like this. It's the same way for some other products as well.

Funny thing, if you just pretended like the iPhone launched a couple months later - wait until mid November - you could stroll into any Apple store at your leisure and select whatever model you wanted.

Everyone who wants the thing on the first day knows there's a chance they may not get it. Those who don't understand that have unrealistic expectations. I know not getting the special prize on the special day is a letdown, but those are the (extraordinarily minor) stakes in this game. Changing the entire production methodology to avoid a few days of frustration for a few people would be a foolhardy move on Apple's part.

 

[true god]

Hi,

got my iPhone 7 black today. But the quality/finish of the camerabump is absolutely terrible. This is not the standard I expect from a product that costs 860 Euros!! It is suttle but I saw it instantly when I held the phone in my hand for the first time.


Is your quality better? Maybe there is something wrong with the production process!


What should I do: Go to apple store?, Send it back?, Do nothing?

I live in Germany and I fear that they don't have any stock for replacement!

Thanks for replies guys!

Pictures:

https://www.imagebanana.com/view/brd1sy47/Pic1.jpg
https://www.imagebanana.com/code/jh3uksiy/Pic2.jpg
https://www.imagebanana.com/code/gd6agl6g/Pic3.jpg

That looks pretty bad. I'd take it back to Apple.

 

[virbing]

LOL, yah... intentionally done too to limit the amount to create the illusion of hype. It's a failed product. I hope apple's intent to ruin a perfectly good industry standard (3.5mm plug) for their greedy tactics bites them in the ass.

If it's not broken, DONT FIX IT.

Great mantra ... after all, wouldn't we all be better off with flip phones now ...?

 

[bunnicula]

Well, hate to break it to you, but you're wrong. Whether they had independent pools for pre-orders vs. walk-ins I don't know. What I do know is that I had a pre-order for a phone that hadn't yet been fulfilled, and I walked in and got it first thing this morning and cancelled the online order. These phones were already locked in a cage and had just regular Best Buy employees handling them. Also, I wasn't the only one that got a walk-in phone, at least 15 other people did as well. Maybe things have changed since you left.

I bought an iPhone 6 for my husband in 2014 the same way. Just walked in on launch day. Short line, maybe 5 people ahead of me. Paid cash. Walked out.

Husband stayed home to wait for my preordered 6 plus to arrive. All was peachy.

And, they will let any employee touch the display phones once they come in. Or the boxed phones, for that matter. None of them are going to steal iPhones. Too many cameras, asset protection officers, desire to keep one's job, etc.

Maybe if you're really new at the store or the store is in a bad neighborhood, the rules are different. I live in the suburbs and one of my kids works for BB. Has for a few years. He definitely got to hold the display model on Thursday. He even sent me pics.