If you weren’t enrolled in the iPhone Upgrade Program (IUP), then until now you’ve had to make do with walking into an Apple store and hoping to secure an iPhone 7 — or placing an online order which took at least 2-3 weeks for delivery.
Apple has just opened up the ability for everyone to order and check availability for in-store iPhone 7 and 7 Plus pickup.
To view pickup availability simply enter your order as normal; click on the “check availability”, then insert your zip code, and the Apple site shows surrounding stores with an adequate inventory of the phone you are looking to purchase.
A quicker way to view online stock status is iStockNow.com, which shows surrounding stores on a map and allows you to drill into each store to show stock by carrier, model, color, and memory.
Right now, the stock of iPhone 7s seems plentiful while the iPhone 7 Plus are scarce. Apple seems to update their internal inventory starting around 8am local time and continuing periodically through the day. If you don’t find what you’re looking for the first time – try logging back into the Apple site in a few hours or first thing in the morning.