I guess pre-order warnings will continue annually until things get better. MacWorld has a new article on how this process needs to change: How Apple can fix its awful pre-ordering system.
Apple has designed this system for maximum attention at the expense of its most loyal customers. And it needs to change.
I don’t think things have improved all that much from my own pre-order problems three years ago, but maybe now spread out a little with separate ordering windows for the two new iPhone models (8 and X).