The New Apple iPhone 14

[Katsmeow]

DH and I had been doing the same thing, paying $.99/mo each for 50GB. But I kept getting close to my limit (mostly pics and videos and backups).

I looked at what it took to upgrade my own iCloud storage and it's $2.99/mo for 200GB but it can be shared with your "family". We already have Family Sharing set up so that we can share our AppleTV+ account.

So I have upgraded my iCloud to 200GB and shared it with DH. He's no longer being charged the $.99/mo and we now have plenty of space in our shared iCloud.

If you use a lot of Apple services, it may pay to get Apple One Premier.

 

[Sue J]

If you use a lot of Apple services, it may pay to get Apple One Premier.

Yes, I looked at that. So far the only ones we use are iCloud and AppleTV+. We have a free year of AppleTV+ from our T-mobile phone plan. When that runs out I’m considering paying for it. Still less than the lowest cost Apple One for $14.95.

But it’s an interesting concept.

 

[audreyh1]

Poor DH! He tried to order his iPhone 14 pro max that first morning and ran into technical difficulties with the Apple site during that first hour. So he wasn’t able to order in time to get it delivered before our trip.

And then during our trip his ancient iPhoneX started having serious problems. The dreaded “green lines” showed up, and he noticed that his phone was swelling. It was getting noticeably worse every day and the screen pulled away from the case. So we ended up ordering him a basic iPhone13 and driving to the Apple Store in ABQ to get everything transferred hopefully before his phone completely died.

He wouldn’t have gotten anything for his old iPhone X trade in anyway as I’m sure Apple would have detected any battery or screen pulling away problems. I wish I’d taken a picture of how pathetic his phone looked before turning it in. Still - over 5 years of use.

I’m much happier because he finally has 5G and no longer complains about poor cellphone reception.

He will upgrade to what he really wants after a while.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Poor DH! He tried to order his iPhone 14 pro max that first morning and ran into technical difficulties with the Apple site during that first hour. So he wasn’t able to order in time to get it delivered before our trip.

And then during our trip his ancient iPhoneX started having serious problems. The dreaded “green lines” showed up, and he noticed that his phone was swelling. It was getting noticeably worse every day and the screen pulled away from the case. So we ended up ordering him a basic iPhone13 and driving to the Apple Store in ABQ to get everything transferred hopefully before his phone completely died.

What an ordeal. That panicky feeling that you're going to lose stuff on your phone is not a good one.

That's a bummer that he couldn't get his order placed on premiere day.

 

[aja8888]

Poor DH! He tried to order his iPhone 14 pro max that first morning and ran into technical difficulties with the Apple site during that first hour. So he wasn’t able to order in time to get it delivered before our trip.

And then during our trip his ancient iPhoneX started having serious problems. The dreaded “green lines” showed up, and he noticed that his phone was swelling. It was getting noticeably worse every day and the screen pulled away from the case. So we ended up ordering him a basic iPhone13 and driving to the Apple Store in ABQ to get everything transferred hopefully before his phone completely died.

He wouldn’t have gotten anything for his old iPhone X trade in anyway as I’m sure Apple would have detected any battery or screen pulling away problems. I wish I’d taken a picture of how pathetic his phone looked before turning it in. Still - over 5 years of use.

I’m much happier because he finally has 5G and no longer complains about poor cellphone reception.

He will upgrade to what he really wants after a while.

DW is still using her iPhone 6S+ we bought "a while back". She's happy so all is good and it still has the original battery! And I am still on my 2 year old Motorola G Power. I really like the 3 day battery life in the G Power, although I am a casual user of sorts.

We did have to buy DW a new iPad as her's lost it's video earlier this year (well out of warranty).

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I'm anxiously using the UPS tracking app to follow the progression of my iPhone as it moves across the globe toward me. It was held up in ZhenZhou, China for the weekend waiting to be cleared by the "government agency". Then overnight it got to Korea and has since "departed" Korea. UPS hasn't posted a target delivery date, but Apple says it is set for delivery on Friday. I leave on Tuesday for a week on my next Amtrak trip, so I'm hoping it gets here before then. I'm quite confident it will. I've already received my case for the phone and a higher wattage power adapter to support faster charging. Now all I Need is the Phone!

 

[audreyh1]

What an ordeal. That panicky feeling that you're going to lose stuff on your phone is not a good one.

That's a bummer that he couldn't get his order placed on premiere day.

Yeah, technical difficulties ordering first thing in the morning were widely reported that day so it wasn’t just DH.

We did use their temporary iCloud backup to get ready for transfer and that took quite a while hoping the phone would hang in there. He had been leaving it powered off otherwise. But when we got to the store he was able to initiate the direct phone to phone transfer and successfully complete, whew!

 

[tulak]

Do you have iCloud Backup enabled?

That’s what I use for both my iPhone and iPad. If either dies, I can fully restore and not lose anything.

I also use this when I upgrade to a new device.

 

[audreyh1]

No, in general we do not use iCloud for backup. We back up our iPhones to our computers at home which in turn get backed up using time machine.

But when you buy a new device and plan to transfer, Apple offers a temporary storage for backing up for transfer. We did that because we were traveling and in case the phone died before we got the new one. The iCloud transfer was quite slow, but fortunately did get done.

It turned out that we didn’t need it because the phone was still barely functional by the time we got to the store and we were able to do the direct phone to phone transfer.

 

[tulak]

Just curious, why not use iCloud Backup?

I started using it years ago and it works great. I never think about losing my data. I’ve gone through a few device upgrades and it works well, both on iPhone and iPad.

 

[audreyh1]

We preferred from long ago to manage our own backups locally and not use the internet/cloud.

We also have been through numerous device upgrades and device to device works very well.

We had several fallbacks even if there ended up being a delay in getting everything to the new phone due to traveling.

 

[tulak]

Thanks. I understand. I figure that so much of my stuff is already in Apple’s ecosystem, there’s not much harm in having backups there too.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

My iPhone 14 Pro Max is on the UPS truck for delivery to my home today. Pretty cool that Monday it was in Incheon, Korea and Wednesday morning it is in Tiny Town, Northwestern Pennsylvania. Oddly, it was put on the truck at 8:35 am and then at 8:45 got customs clearance. I suspect that must have been a delayed update, since I think the clearance would have been done at its stop in Anchorage or Indianapolis.

 

[braumeister]

Supply chain issues strike again.

On Apple's online store in the United States, the devices' estimated shipping times are currently hovering around the six-week mark, with deliveries for all *iPhone 14 Pro* models now only available from December 27, already putting them out of reach of many would-be gift-buying customers before Christmas Day.
iPhone 14 Pro Models Ordered From Apple Today Unlikely to Arrive in Time for Christmas in the US

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, DH went ahead and ordered his iPhone 14 Pro Max earlier this week due to these supply chain issues. The city where the Apple factory is located is getting hit hard by Covid shut downs again. He was quoted Dec 15 to 21. Fingers crossed!

 

[tutan]

We'd rather buy and pick up in the Apple stores locally. They are becoming scarce but occasionally a store close by or in another city will have them. But good luck if you want a specific color or amount of memory. I have my mind set on the 512 GB, which is probably needed for the much larger photo files in raw format. I plan on keeping the phone for the next 5+ years like our current 6s+.

 

[audreyh1]

We're 250 miles from the closest Apple store!

Pretty much stuck ordering for home delivery unless we are on a road trip. The fun thing is watching our order ship all the way from China.

 

[tutan]

I am uncertain about the transfer /sync process going from the current phone to the new phone so we're hoping the experts in the store will do it for us when we pick it up. There are around 12 Apple stores in the SF Bay area but really don't want to drive too far. These phones seem to be in high demand here.

 

[braumeister]

I am uncertain about the transfer /sync process going from the current phone to the new phone so we're hoping the experts in the store will do it for us when we pick it up.

Actually, it's simplicity itself.
You just place the old phone next to the new one, and it will walk you through the process. I've done that with my last two iPhones, and it has been seamless.

 

[tutan]

Actually, it's simplicity itself.
You just place the old phone next to the new one, and it will walk you through the process. I've done that with my last two iPhones, and it has been seamless.

Thanks! We may have to do it that way.

 

[audreyh1]

Actually, it's simplicity itself.
You just place the old phone next to the new one, and it will walk you through the process. I've done that with my last two iPhones, and it has been seamless.

Agreed, best thing ever! Especially it handles the phone credentials transfer beautifully - we always order the model not associated with a specific carrier as that supports T-Mobile. We get text alerts but otherwise cell phone setup is automatic.

You actually have the camera of the old iPhone look at a pattern on the new iPhone to get the process started. Then they talk to each other.

 

[braumeister]

we always order the model not associated with a specific carrier

Every iPhone you buy from us online or in an Apple Store is unlocked, with the exception of a few carrier financing options. With an unlocked iPhone, you’re free to go with the carrier of your choice.

I believe the only lock is when you buy one using an AT&T financing option. Everything else is completely unlocked and stays that way even if you switch carriers lately.

 

[audreyh1]

Do the new iPhones all have all the cell bands now? It used to be that you had to have a different phone for Verizon or AT&T versus the others. Or something like that.

 

[braumeister]

Do the new iPhones all have all the cell bands now? It used to be that you had to have a different phone for Verizon or AT&T versus the others. Or something like that.

Yes, they are complete now, although I believe there are a couple of small differences in the frequency bands between European phones and North American ones. Insignificant for the most part.

What you're remembering is that some carriers used CDMA frequency management while others used GSM (which is what most of the world used). But they all have both now, since CDMA is nearly obsolete and GSM is nearly so.

You just want 5G (or at least 4G) now, and all the current iPhones (since the 12) work with that.

 

[audreyh1]

I remember DHs old iPhone 5 was Verizon CDMA, but it also had most of the GSM bands and was already unlocked for Europe.