I left work at 12:00 PM EST and went to my local Apple Store for my 1:45 pm window for pick up. The transition to esim was smooth but I got talked into doing the iCloud restore AT the apple store and it took FOREVER due to everyone in the store on the Apple wifi. But I did meet some nice people both Apple employees and others who were setting up their iCloud restore on their phones. Apparently, a few were familiar with these forums but don't post ( lurkers) ha. I am just getting home with my 14 pro max in silver though it looks white. I got the clear MagSafe case and a screen protector as well. I would take pics many have posted theirs already so y'all get the point. I was expecting the screen to be a bit bigger though on the 14 pro max coming for an 11 pro max but the screens are about the same size. Not bothered by that but from some stuff I saw online, I thought the screen would be massive lol.
Will really play around with it once the iCloud restore is done. Still very excited to have this phone and it's been a great ride with you all. I still will be around on these forums, photography thread, and in doing this tracking stuff in a month or two when I order a new apple watch going for the series 8 or Ultra.