Other with preorder pickup times, do you have to be there in that exact time slot or could you get there anytime that day

[sbloomenthal1]

I don't know if I could be there at exactly that time

 

[felton92]

Earlier in the day I’d say yeah to avoid a backlog of queues but they’re not going to say no go away after you spent all that money, it’ll just make it difficult for you. It’s to stop everyone being there at opening time and to spread people out during the day.

Mine is 30-45 mins before they close after I finish work so as long as I get there before closing then fine, if not I’ll collect next day

 

[4sallypat]

If you miss your time slot, the Apple rep at the door will tell you if you can wait for an available rep.
Or if it's super busy, you may have to wait in the walk up line.

 

[soapropos]

You can come at any point in the day after your pickup slot, but those with a pickup window at the time you show up get priority over you

 

[JPack]

Really depends on the this year's sales performance and number of pre-orders. In general, they'll let you in any time after without fuss.

 

[shr631]

usually you’ll get a text saying something like your order will be ready at your scheduled time. that text will come earlier in the day relative to your pickup time. afaik and ime, whenever you get that text your device is actually ready for you

 

[Honey_crisp]

Like others have said, it’s a window designed to help the store effectively manage the volume of customers throughout the day(s) with a new product launch. From my personal experience:

Going earlier than your pickup window - generally frowned upon but you might get lucky.
Going later than your pickup window - usually fine, but stores might prioritize customers who were specifically reserved that time slot over you. Usually by the end of the day they run out of walk-in inventory at my local stores and the lines for order pickups tend to be short so if you are going later go towards the end of the day.

When you preorder for pickup, your card is charged and you have technically paid for and purchased the phone. They will keep it for whatever number of days it says on the order, usually 7-14 days, so even if you can’t make it to the store the same day the phone is yours and they won’t give it away to someone else.