Customers of Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program appear to have been left behind in the pre-order process for the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Macrumors reports that a number of customers were unable to select the specific model, carrier, color, or storage capacity they were looking for as stock appeared to be limited immediately when orders began. The process left many customers questioning the value of the iPhone Upgrade Program, which is designed to allow users to purchase a new iPhone for fixed monthly payments over a two-year time period and receive annual upgrades to the latest model, as they quickly discovered that the upgrade process requires making reservations at a local Apple Store, where inventories are generally much more severely constrained, as opposed to placing a normal preorder through the online Apple Store. The problem was further exacerbated by the suspension of the reservation system in the U.S., leaving many customers unable to try to reserve an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus at all.
