Apple’s big iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus release might be just over two weeks behind us, but the supply of iPhone 7 handsets in the US still isn’t anywhere close to catching up to demand. It’s difficult to say just how hot Apple’s new iPhones are since Apple decided not to share opening-weekend sales figures this year. That means we won’t really get a feel for how well the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are selling until Apple reports its September-quarter earnings later this month. What we do know, however, is that things are finally beginning to level out a bit, and some of Apple’s most desirable new iPhone 7 models are finally attainable.
If you’ve been holding off on your new iPhone 7 purchase because you want Jet Black, we have terrific news for you: You can finally get your hands on one and in this post, we’ll show you how.
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First, the bad news: It’s still insanely difficult to score a Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus. New online orders aren’t shipping until sometime in November, and finding them in stores is next to impossible. In fact, getting your hands on any iPhone 7 Plus model is still extremely difficult.
If you want a smaller iPhone 7 in Jet Black though, you’ll have a much easier time finding one.
Beginning Monday, Apple stores across the country are showing much more iPhone 7 inventory than they had been until now. Thankfully, that also includes the Jet Black iPhone 7, which had been beyond scarce. If you want to get your hands on one, here’s what you need to do.
First, visit iStockNow and zoom in on the Apple stores in your area. We’ve told you about this handy site several times, but if you missed it, the site taps into Apple’s publicly available inventory tracker and shows you exactly which iPhone 7 models, iPhone 7 Plus models and Apple Watch Series 2 models are in stock at any Apple store in the country.
Here’s a screenshot of the Apple store in One World Trade Center:
As you can see, this store had Jet Black iPhone 7 models in stock for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon users at the time of this writing. All other stores in and around New York City had Jet Black iPhone 7 units in stock as well.
The key is to check as early as possible in the morning, and then use Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program reservation system to reserve your phone for in-store pickup. Once you do that your phone is locked in — and don’t worry, you don’t actually have to use Apple’s upgrade program when you go to the store and purchase the phone. You can choose any carrier upgrade program you’d like, or you can pay outright.
