So I am back with my iPhone 12 Pro in Pacific Blue! It is currently restoring from backup on my Mac, then I will take a few photos of it to share with the group.
As far as the in-store pickup experience -- here is how it went down at the Apple Southdale location in Edina, MN. This is a mall location.
Mall doesn't open until 11, but Apple Store opened at 8am. They had only one mall entrance opened specifically for the event and the security guard outside the mall originally told us appointments only. He made us wait in a holding area until about 8am and then walked us down to the store.
There was 2 lines -- one for appointments and one for standby. They did not specifically say what the procedure was for standby people (timeframe, order of being selected, etc.). Regardless, everyone that showed up had to get a temp scan from two security guards.
My appt. was for 8am, so they moved me to an appt. line, which I was checked in and then socially distant between people. There was maybe 3 people ahead of me and 2 people behind me. The standby line had maybe 5 people.
When it was my turn, the sales associate brought me in and we stood across the table. She scanned my barcode and grabbed device. Since I was doing the iUP program, I had to surrender my device immediately. I turned off "Find my iPhone" and erased all settings after the new phone was brought out and "checked in". Once done, she asked if I needed anything else. I asked about blue or black wallets and she said they had ton in back, but none on display.
After going to grab me one, she came back and said that they were actually sold out of all wallets and that the earliest store arrival was December 8th.
I grabbed my new phone and was on my way.
Quick unboxing impressions: I LOOOOOOVE the squared off design. It really makes the phone feel easier to hold. Also, I'm not noticing much of a difference in size coming down from the 11 Pro Max. Right now the only thing I am undecided on is the color. I'm traditionally a silver/white person, but went on a limb with Pacific Blue. It's a great color and definitely looks awesome, but the back and sides really blend together, opposed to the silver and white kind of standing out. I had the chance to look at all colors in person at the store and I must say Graphite also looks very nice this year.
I think in time, I will grow to like the PB as it is very different.
Anyways, end rant. Can't wait for backup to finish!!!