3 Reasons to Pre-Order the iPhone 13 & 4 Reasons to Wait

There are some great reasons to pre-order an iPhone 13 right away, but you also might want to consider putting your credit card away for the time being.

Apple’s confirmed its new batch of iPhone models and the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max are slated to go on sale in the near future.

The devices, which replace the iPhone 12 series as the company’s flagships, will go up for pre-order later on this week in the United States and other countries around the world. iPhone 13 pre-orders start on September 17th.

iPhone 13 pre-orders begin at 5AM Pacific which means you might need to stay up late, or wake up early, in order to get the iPhone 13 model you want.

The iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max look like solid additions to the company’s portfolio. The new models come with better displays, enhanced performance, improved cameras, and more.

These upgrades, and potential shipping delays, are among the reasons why you might want to consider putting in an iPhone 13 pre-order right when sales start.

If Apple Stores and retailers are open in your area, you should be able to find the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max in stock on release day next week. The iPhone 13 release date lands on September 24th.

That said, in-store stock can be unpredictable and there’s a chance you walk away empty-handed or with a model that was your second or third choice.

The cheapest iPhone 13 model, the iPhone 13 mini, starts at $699 before a trade-in while the most expensive model, the iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at $1099. These prices increase as you add additional internal storage.

Buying an iPhone 13 right away might be tempting, but spending $700 or more on a product you haven’t had a chance to try in person makes it a tough decision.

In this guide, we’ll help you decide if you should pre-order the iPhone 13. For some of you, it will be worth it. That said, many others are better off waiting.

Pre-Order If You Want Your iPhone 13 ASAP

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If you want a brand new iPhone 13 in your hands as soon as possible, you'll probably want to put in a pre-order. Earlier this year, Apple CFO Luca Maesteri said the company is expecting supply constraints to impact the iPhone and iPad. It’s unclear how this might impact the iPhone 13 launch, but we suspect it means we'll see shipping delays.  We might not see an immediate sell out, but there's a very good chance we see some, and perhaps all, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max shipping dates get pushed into October or in some cases, November.  If you want a guaranteed delivery on or around September 24th, you'll want to put in a pre-order through Apple, your carrier, or your favorite retailer shortly after pre-orders open up on Friday. If you don't, and shipping times slip for the model you want, you'll have to go into a store or wait several weeks for your new phone to arrive.

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