Be the first to nab an iPhone X this Friday
The iPhone X is one of the must-have tech gadgets of the year, and even with a starting price of $999, the device is expected to sell out immediately when Apple lets shoppers start ordering the phone Friday at 3 a.m. ET.
What to do?
DON’T STAND IN LINE
The phone will be in stores on Nov. 3, but tech analysts say Apple has supply constraints that will make it harder than usual to get hold of the newest iPhone. That means camping outside stores for hours, or even days, to grab a phone may be a fool’s errand.
Savvy customers know to jump online the minute presales begin, and put in their or- der promptly, at Apple.com or via one of the major phone carriers that sell iPhones, such as Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint.
Apple responds on a firstcome, first-serve basis. The earlier you get your pre-order in, the sooner the new phone should arrive to you.
In the past, pre-sales have sold out for opening day within five minutes, Creative Strategies tech analyst Ben Bajarin notes.
APPLE.COM OR APPLE STORE APP?
In years past, the Apple.com website got jammed up from all the activity. So here’s a tip: Download the Apple Store app and shop there.
But you’ll need to make several decisions first. Know your choices now.
What color do you want?
Your choices are space gray or silver.
How much are you will
ing to pay? The phone starts at
$999 with 128 GB of storage, or
$49.91 monthly for two years via Apple’s lease program, or $1,149
($56.16 monthly) with 256 GB of storage.
“Don’t fumble at midnight trying to figure it out,” says Michael Schneider of Los Angeles, who pre-orders a new iPhone every year when they first go on sale. He always pays full price and then re-sells his old phone via the third-party buy/sell site Gazelle so he doesn’t have to waste valuable time dealing with the wireless carriers.
For pricing, think long and hard about storage. Can you live with 128 GB? Remember that those 4K videos and new augmented-reality apps add up fast. If you’re going to spend this kind of money on the phone, spring for the 256 GB option. On a monthly basis, it’s only $6 more expensive: $56.16 monthly vs. $49.91.
Speaking of trade-ins:
The wireless carriers are offering generous incentives to buy the phone from them, with anywhere from $300 to $350 off the purchase price, and some fine print involved as well. Read the specs now from your carriers. You can pre-order from them, too.
Apple. com or ATT.com?
There is a school of thought that the wireless carrier websites might see less traffic than Apple .com, and thus, be easier to break through Friday morning. But Jeff Caldwell of Portland, who buys a new iPhone on pre-sale night every year, says both are tough nuts to crack. “Every year, ATT’s site is bogged down and it takes up to 45 minutes to get my order though,” he says. “I’ve also tried ordering through Apple with the same or worse results.” Have your carrier info
ready. If you want to renew an agreement, have your social security number, account number and passwords ready, but remember that you can buy the phone unlocked and bring it into the wireless stores to set up in a less-rushed atmosphere.