Only members of the program will be able to reserve an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus
Reserve and Pick up from the physical stores is now officially harder for those who want a new iPhone in the United States. The company requires a 24-month installment loan if a user wants to reserve and get the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus from one of the many physical stores around the US.
However, many customers were able to place an iPhone reservation and then successfully got their smartphones without being enrolled in the Upgrade program. A customer writes in one of the Apple forums that he has used the same Update program link to reserve an iPhone 7 at the local store, without being a member of the Upgrade program. It appears that a reservation is still possible in a few stores, despite the fact that Apple says “A user MUST be currently enrolled in the iPhone Upgrade Program”.
Fortunately, this program is available only in the US, so if you are living in some other country then you should be able to Reserve and Pick Up a phone regardless of what payment method or carrier program you choose.