3 Reasons to Pre-Order the iPhone 14 & 4 Reasons to Wait

There are some great reasons to pre-order an iPhone 14 right now, but there are also some reasons why you might want to put your wallet away and wait.

Apple’s confirmed its 2022 iPhone models and the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max are slated to go on sale later this week.

The devices, which replace the iPhone 13 series as Apple’s flagship models, are currently up for pre-order in the United States and other countries around the world.

The iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max look like excellent phones on paper. The new models come with enhanced performance, improved cameras, design tweaks, and more.

These upgrades, and shipping delays, are among the reasons why you might want to consider putting in an iPhone 14 pre-order sooner rather than later.

If you can’t or simply don’t want to pre-order, you’ll find the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max in stores on September 16th. The new iPhone 14 Plus will land in stores on October 7th.

That said, in-store stock can and probably will be unpredictable and there’s a chance you walk away empty-handed or with a model that wasn’t your first choice.

• Pre-Order If You Want Your iPhone 14 ASAP
• Pre-Order If You Want a Popular Model
• Pre-Order to Avoid Stores
• Wait for iPhone 14 Reviews
• Wait If You Aren’t Prepared
• Wait for More iPhone 14 Deals
• Wait If You’re Worried About Problems

Buying a new iPhone 14 right away might be tempting, but spending this kind of money on a product you haven’t had a chance to try in person might make this a tough decision for a lot of you.

In this guide, we’ll help you decide if you should pre-order the iPhone 14.

Pre-Order If You Want Your iPhone 14 ASAP

If you want a brand new iPhone 14 in your hands as soon as possible, you’ll probably want to put in a pre-order.

Supply constraints are impacting the iPhone 14 series and we’ve seen shipping delays push some delivery dates into late September and October.

If you want a guaranteed delivery on or around September 16th, or October 7th if you want to buy the iPhone 14 Plus, you’ll want to put in a pre-order.

If you don’t, and shipping times continue to slip for the iPhone 14 model you want, you’ll have to go into a store or wait several weeks for your new phone to arrive.

Pre-Order If You Want a Popular Model

Like previous models, the iPhone 14 series comes in several different colors. There are also a number of storage options to choose from.

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models are the hardest to find in stock right now. Apple’s Pro models are always extremely popular and their lofty price points haven’t scared buyers away.

We typically see a lot of demand for new colors as well so don’t be surprised if we see the purple models start flying off shelves this week as well.

If you want one of these devices, think about pre-ordering.

Pre-Order to Avoid Stores

If you decide to pass on a pre-order, but still want an iPhone 14 in your hands on or around September 16th, you’ll need to head into a physical store.

We probably won’t see lines wrap around entire city blocks, but we could see quite a bit of foot traffic at some locations if the devices sell out during the pre-order period.

If you want to avoid crowds of people due to COVID, the weather, or some other reason, you’ll want to buy your new phone online.

There’s no way of knowing what kind of stock Apple and retail partners will have available on release day. While some stores could have a a lot of iPhone 14 stock available, others might have uneven stock or very little stock.

If you don’t want to risk it, buy your iPhone 14 online.

Wait for iPhone 14 Reviews

Again, the iPhone 14 series looks great on paper, but there’s no guarantee you’ll want or need all of the changes Apple’s made this year.

iPhone 14 reviews aren’t live yet but we do expect them to start trickling out a few days before the new models arrive in stores.

Buying an iPhone 14 might sound great, but many of you will be just fine going with a cheaper model like the iPhone 11 or iPhone SE 3. You’ll also want to investigate the iPhone 13 series and iPhone 12 series.

If money is tight right now or you can’t decide which iPhone 14 model to buy, we recommend waiting for iPhone 14 reviews, long-term feedback from critics and early adopters, and the ability to go hands-on with one or more of these devices.

Wait If You Aren’t Prepared

If you aren’t fully prepared to buy the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, or iPhone 14 Pro Max, you’ll want to hold off on a pre-order. Here’s what we mean by that.

Before you invest in a new iPhone you’ll want to spend some time prepping for your purchase. Individual needs will vary, but here are a few things to consider.

You’ll want to figure out the precise amount of storage you’ll need. You’ll also want to pick the right color for your tastes.

Make sure you look into carriers and data plans. Some of you might want to use this purchase as an excuse to leave for another carrier and/or switch up your current plan.

You’ll want to check out iPhone 14 series alternatives like the iPhone 13 series, iPhone 12 series, Google Pixel 6, Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series, and others.

This might be easy for some of you, but for others, it’s going to take quite a bit of time to complete. In some cases, it could take a week or more.

If you find yourself feeling unprepared and uneasy about putting in an iPhone 14 pre-order, do yourself a favor and put the credit card away and wait.

Wait for More iPhone 14 Deals

The first batch of iPhone 14 deals require you to trade in your current device. And to get the best deal, your phone needs to be in excellent condition.

It usually takes a few weeks for retailers to offer straight price cuts on new iPhone models. We probably won’t see the first true iPhone 14 price cuts until Black Friday in late November or later.

The absolute best iPhone 14 deals will likely surface next year once the holidays are over and the hype around the new models has died down.

If you don’t have a phone to trade-in and/or you don’t want to pay full price for an iPhone 14, you’ll want to hold off on a pre-order and wait for prices to improve.

Wait if You’re Worried About Problems

If you’re concerned about hardware or software problems, you might want to wait a few weeks before buying an iPhone 14.

The devices will run iOS 16 out of the box. Apple’s put the the operating system through extensive testing but its plagued by an assortment of bugs and performance issues. Some of these will be unique to the iPhone 14 series.

Apple will likely roll out new iOS 16 software in the coming days so it might be worth waiting for the initial batch of iPhone 14-related bug fixes to arrive before buying.

New iPhones sometimes debut with hardware issues as well. For instance iPhone 11 buyers ran into issues with scratches and iPhone 12 users ran into issues with 5G connectivity and various other issues at launch.

The iPhone 14 series utilizes a lot of new technology so we could certainly see some growing pains right out of the gates.

If you’re concerned, you might want to hang back and see what kind of problems early adopters are seeing in the days and/or weeks after the phones are released.

Install iOS 16.7.7 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 16.7.7 update on your iPhone right away. iOS 16.7.7 has two security patches on board. If you want to protect your device from harm, you should install the upgrade sooner rather than later. If you missed older versions of iOS 16, you'll get the fixes and features from updates you missed when you upgrade to iOS 16.7.7. iOS 16.7.6 delivered several security patches to iPhone users.  iOS 16.7.5 had nine security patches on board and they're important if you want to keep you device and its data safe from harm.  iOS 16.7.3 delivered several security patches including one that patches up an issue with the Find My app.  iOS 16.7.2 brought several security patches to iPhone models still running iOS 16. Learn more about them here. iOS 16.7.1 carried two important security enhancements including one that addressed a kernel vulnerability. You can learn more about the pair over on Apple's website. iOS 16.7 had three security patches on board and you can learn more about them right here. iOS 16.6.1 brought two important security patches to iPhone. If you're interested in what they patch up, here's Apple's guide.  The iOS 16.6 update featured 16 security patches. For more information about the changes, check out Apple's rundown.   iOS 16.5.1 brought two security patches to iPhone users  If you want to learn more, head on over to Apple's website. The company's iOS Security Response 16.5.1 (c) update also included a security update and you can learn more about it right here. iOS 16.5 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. You can find out more about them over on Apple's security site. iOS 16.4.1 included two security upgrades . You can learn more about the pair right here. Apple's iOS 16.4 update had a substantial number of patches on board. You can read about them in detail over on Apple's security site. The iOS 16.3.1 update had three security patches on board including one for an actively exploited vulnerability. For more on the security contents of iOS 16.3.1, check out Apple's security page.  iOS 16.3 brought 10+ new security patches with it and you can learn more about all of those right here.  In addition, the software came with support for physical security keys for Apple ID. These will beef up your account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process. Learn more about the change right here. If you skipped iOS 16.2, you'll get its changes with iOS 16.7.7. iOS 16.2 brought a ton of important security patches with it and you can dig into the details on Apple's security site.  The update also brought end-to-end encryption to iCloud, iMessage, iPhone backups, Notes, Photos, and more. If you want to learn more about it, head over to Apple's guide.  If you decided to missed iOS 16.1.2, you'll get its solitary security patch with your upgrade. Learn more about it right here. If you skipped iOS 16.1.1, you'll get its security patches when you upgrade. You can learn more about them right here. If you missed the iOS 16.1 update, it brought 19 security patches to the iPhone and you can learn about the particulars of those over on Apple's website. If you failed to download iOS 16.0.3, it had one security patch on board, a fix for a potential exploit within the Mail app. For more about the fix, check out Apple's security site. If you're still running iOS 15 your iPhone, you'll get a bunch of other patches when you upgrade. iOS 16.0 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website. In addition to those patches, iOS 16 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including Safety Check which, according to Apple, will help "people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations review and reset the access they’ve granted others."  The feature also resets system privacy permissions for apps and restricts Messages and FaceTime to the device on hand. Apple's also made some improvements to Passkeys in Safari. iOS 16 brings a brand new sign-in method that's end-to-end encrypted and safe from phishing and data leaks.

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