3 Reasons to Pre-Order the iPhone 15 & 4 Reasons to Wait

There are some great reasons to pre-order an iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro, but some people might want to put the credit card away and wait.

Apple’s confirmed its 2023 iPhone models and the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max are slated to go on sale soon.

The devices, which replace the iPhone 14 series as the company’s flagships, will go up for pre-order in the United States and other countries around the world this Friday.

iPhone 15 pre-orders begin at 5AM Pacific which means you might need to stay up late, or wake up early, in order to get the  model you want.

The iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max look like excellent phones on paper. The new models come with performance enhancements, improved cameras, design tweaks, and more.

These upgrades, and potential shipping delays, are among the reasons why you might want to consider putting in an iPhone 15 pre-order right when sales start later on this week.

If you can’t or simply don’t want to pre-order, you’ll find the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max in stores next week. Their release date is September 22nd.

Buying a new iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro right away might be tempting, but spending $799 or more on a product you haven’t had a chance to try in person makes this a tough decision for a lot of people.

In this guide, we’ll help you decide if you should pre-order the iPhone 15 or wait until the dust settles.

Pre-Order If You Want the iPhone 15 ASAP

If you want a brand new iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro in your hands as soon as possible, you’ll want to pre-order.

We could see supply constraints impact the iPhone 15 series. While they may not be as bad as shipping delays we’ve seen in previous years, we do expect some models to sell out and shipping dates for some models to get pushed into October.

If you want a guaranteed delivery on or around September 22nd, 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.

Pre-Order If You Want a Popular Model

Like previous models, the iPhone 15 series comes in several different flavors. There are several color and storage options to choose from.

We expect the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models to sell out the quickest. Apple’s Pro models are extremely popular and we don’t expect the lofty price points to scare buyers away.

We typically see a lot of demand for new colors as well so don’t be surprised if the pink iPhone 15 model starts 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 15 or iPhone 15 Pro in your hands on or around September 22nd, 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, especially if some models sell out during the pre-order period. If you want to avoid crowds of people, you’ll want to buy your new phone online.

While some stores could have a a lot of iPhone 15 stock available on release day, others might have uneven stock or very little stock. If you don’t want to risk it, buy your new phone online.

Wait for iPhone 15 Reviews

Again, the iPhone 15 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 15 reviews aren’t live yet, but we expect them to start trickling out a few days before the new models arrive on shelves in stores.

Buying an iPhone 15 might sound great, but many of you will be just fine going with a cheaper model like the iPhone 12 series or iPhone SE 3. You’ll also want to investigate the iPhone 14 series and the iPhone 13 series.

If money is tight right now or you can’t decide which iPhone 15 model to buy, we recommend waiting for iPhone 15 reviews, long-term feedback from critics and early adopters, and/or the ability to go hands-on with one or more of these devices yourself.

Wait If You Aren’t Prepared

If you aren’t fully prepared to buy the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max right now, you’ll want to hold off on a pre-order.

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 color that best suites your tastes. Remember, you’ll have to look at this thing for a year or more.

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 15 alternatives like the iPhone 14 series, iPhone 13 series, Google Pixel 7, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series, and others.

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

If you find yourself feeling unprepared and uneasy about putting in an iPhone 15 pre-order, do yourself a favor and put the wallet away and wait.

Wait for More iPhone 15 Deals

The first batch of iPhone 15 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 15 price cuts until Black Friday in late November or later.

The absolute best iPhone 15 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 15, 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 15.

The devices run iOS 17 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. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro will have their own unique problems as well.

Apple will roll out new software in the coming days so it might be worth waiting for the initial batch of iPhone 15-related bug fixes to arrive before buying your device.

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 15 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.