iPhone 12 And iPhone 12 Pro Pre-Orders Are Open - What You Should Know

Today is a big day for iPhone fans, or at least those looking to order an iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro. Both phones are going up for pre-order today, and even though they're just two of the four phones Apple is launching this year, there are still a lot of decisions to be made. If you're looking to pre-order an iPhone today, consider this your guide to that decision making process.

The standard iPhone 12 will probably be the phone that most people opt for, given simply that it's Apple's standard model. The Apple store listing for the phone prices it at $799, but of course, there are various trade-in offers both at Apple and all of the major carriers that can bring the price down, sometimes significantly.

One pricing variable is whether you buy the phone for a specific carrier or unlocked directly from Apple – strangely, buying it SIM-free and unlocked from Apple costs $829, $30 more than the carrier price. Price is also affected by the amount of storage you want; that $799 price point gets you 64GB of storage, while 128GB of storage costs $849 and 256GB costs $949.

The iPhone 12 is available in five different colors: White, Black, Blue, Green, and (PRODUCT)RED, with a portion of the purchase price from each (PRODUCT)RED phone supporting the Global Fund's COVID-19 efforts. For me, Apple is showing a delivery date of October 23 for the standard iPhone 12, though that could shift as more people buy up Apple's available stock. Expect the iPhone 12 to be available in Apple and carrier stores on that date as well.

iPhone 12 Pro pre-order situation is much the same as the iPhone 12's. With a starting price of $999, the iPhone 12 Pro costs quite a bit more than the standard iPhone 12. Happily, you won't be charged more for ordering a SIM-free iPhone 12 Pro from Apple, as it'll cost you $999 regardless of where you buy it from (before any trade-in discounts, obviously).

Once again, opting for more storage will increase the price. The $999 model comes with a base storage option of 128GB – double the base storage configuration for the iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro also has a 256GB storage option for $1099 and a 512GB option for $1299. The iPhone 12 Pro is available in four different colors – Graphite, Silver, Gold, and Pacific Blue – with no PRODUCT(RED) model this time.

Instead of giving me a specific delivery date, Apple.com is showing a range of delivery dates for the iPhone 12 Pro, though the official release date that Apple announced during its reveal event earlier this week is October 23rd, 2020. I'm seeing that the Silver iPhone 12 Pro is shipping out the fastest with a delivery estimate of 5-7 days, while the Pacific Blue model has a delivery estimate of 2-3 weeks. In other words, be prepared for a longer wait for some iPhone 12 Pro models.

If you'd prefer to buy an iPhone 12 mini or iPhone 12 Pro Max, you've got a few more weeks before Apple will take your money. Pre-orders for both phones won't open until November 6th, and they'll begin shipping out on November 13th. If you want an iPhone right away, then your only choices are the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro.