iPhone 4 launch day: What should we expect?

iPhone 4 launch day is right around the corner, and that’s probably where the lines will be as well. This version of the iPhone is by far the largest leap in terms of hardware changes since the original iPhone, and that has people excited. With iOS 4 having been released this week as well, it’s kind of hard not to be. The question remains, though, as to what is going to happen this Thursday when the doors at Apple and AT&T stores worldwide open.

If you’ll remember with the launch of the iPhone 3G, activation was nearly impossible for many people, and most customers had to go home and attempt it through iTunes for hours and hours. With both Apple and AT&T experiencing iPhone 4 pre-order problems this year, what’s to say that activation this Thursday will be any better? There are 600,000 iPhone 4 pre-orders in the queue, so I know I’m certainly expecting the activation process to be a rough one.

However, that’s not even the only issue. There is also the fact that many people aren’t even sure how many iPhones, if any, they will be getting on Thursday. As AT&T’s servers were crushed under the demand for the iPhone 4, it’s been reported that some customers couldn’t get through at all, others received 7+ confirmation emails for various phones, and some received confirmation emails for other customers. Luckily for me, I decided to reserve one in the store this year, all but assuring my phone will be there. But for those who’ve ordered them for shipments, who knows what is going to happen or when they are going to get their phones? New pre-orders aren’t even shipping until July 14th for some models.

While I’m sure the launch day at the end of this week isn’t going to be a complete horror, I’m not doubting plenty of activation and shipment woes from some loyal Apple customers. If you’re one of the people who has been lost under a rock for the past month or so, check out where, when, and how to get your iPhone 4.