Four examples prove you should hold off pre-ordering the iPhone 6

The September shipment of the iPhone 6 sold out in hours. But it may be a blessing in disguise for those who missed out. I regularly buy the newest iPhone, but I also wait while the early adopters work out the bugs that plague the first batch.

Let’s take a brief look at all the problems that occurred with previous iterations of iPhones:

iPhone 4 – The iPhone 4 suffered the biggest glitch in the history of the series, with reception issues so poor that journalists dubbed the issue “Antennagate.” Apple eventually fixed the bug that caused the reception signal bars to drop — or even disconnected the call — when users gripped the phone near the antenna.

iPhone 4s – The iPhone 4s suffered serious battery issues, thanks to location services that were discretely draining battery life. Eventually, Apple fixed the issue with a software update that made active location services more conspicuous.

iPhone 5 – When the iPhone 5 was released, a concurrent iOS update replaced Google Maps with the disastrous Apple Maps; after much negative media coverage, the company brought Google back into the App store. In addition, Apple recently agreed to replace faulty iPhone 5 batteries after nearly two years of complaints. (The fix mainly applies to phones sold prior to March 2013.)  Also of note, some early iPhone 5’s needed a power button replacement.

iPhone 5s – Hardware flaws were relatively rare in the 5s, but most of the issues came with the new operating system, iOS7. iOS7 failed to send iMessages, and some users found themselves facing “the blue screen of death” — a phrase previously associated with Windows users.

The newest iPhone, launched to millions of users, will inevitably have infuriating hiccups that will make you want to tear out your hair. Unless you’re a die-hard early adopter willing to be a guinea pig for Apple, wait a few months. Then you watch the complaints fly by as you sit comfortably with your functional iPhone … and full head of hair.