Apple says iPhone 6s units will be available for walk-in purchases at stores this Friday

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2015
Both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available to purchase at Apple retail stores, carrier stores, and select authorized resellers starting this Friday, Apple has announced.




Walk-in customers who hope to get the iPhone 6s lineup should arrive at a store early for Friday's launch, the company said in a press release on Monday. In the U.S., both the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.

"Customer response to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been incredibly positive, we can't wait to get our most advanced iPhones ever into customers' hands starting this Friday," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Apple noted that the new iPhones will be available by reservation only in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and U.S. stores located in tax-free states. Stores will begin selling the phone at 8 a.m. local time.

In addition, starting this Saturday, customers will be able to visit Apple.com to reserve their iPhone for pick-up at their local Apple Store, based on availability. Most Apple stores will also have iPhone available for walk-in customers each day, the company said.

Apple is launching iPhone 6s and 6s Plus this Friday in 12 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the U.K., and the U.S. That's larger than the iPhone 6 launch, which debuted in 9 countries and did not include China.

It was announced last week that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are already on track to exceed last year's record setting iPhone 6 launch. A year ago, the iPhone 6 series debuted to sales of 10 million units in their first weekend -- a record this year's refresh appears poised to break.

The larger iPhone 6s Plus may be in short supply this weekend, thanks to alleged backlight component bottlenecks, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities.

Though the iPhone 6s series looks largely identical to the iPhone 6 externally, the handset has a number of internal upgrades, most notably the addition of the new 3D Touch pressure sensing input. This is paired with the company's Taptic Engine, providing haptic feedback to give a feeling of depth when interacting with the device's display, akin to Force Touch on the Apple Watch and latest MacBook trackpads.

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus also feature upgraded 12-megapixel cameras capable of capturing 4K video. And the devices feature an improved A9 processor sporting 2-gigabytes of RAM, faster performance, and the ability to respond to "Hey Siri" prompts without external power.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    But wait, I thought Angela and Jony were killing lines and in store sales and forcing everyone to buy online?
  • Reply 2 of 15
    rogifan wrote: »
    But wait, I thought Angela and Jony were killing lines and in store sales and forcing everyone to buy online?

    They didn't say how many would be available. ;):D

    Seriously though, the store I was at last year got all of three Plus units, which sold to the first three customers.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    They didn't say how many would be available. ;):D

    Seriously though, the store I was at last year got all of three Plus units, which sold to the first three customers.

    My guess is that issue won't exist this year. But then of course the media will spin it as Apple is Doomed™ because you can walk in a store and buy one.
  • Reply 4 of 15

    Last year, I went from a 4S that served me perfectly for three years to a 6. Since I skipped over the 5/5S, even the 6 seemed absolutely gargantuan by comparison. I strongly felt the 6 Plus was simply too large for a "phone". That, combined with the almost non-existent initial availability of the 6 Plus steered me towards a 6. I've been very pleased with the 6, but now that I've gotten used to its size I think I can handle the 6S Plus now.

     

    I don't like buying something I can't see and touch first, so I'm not a "pre-order" type of person - even though Apple has never disappointed in this regard. Apple's new upgrade program is appealing with its 0% financing rate, the closest Apple store to me is 4-hour round trip and I'd rather just pay for the phone outright to avoid paperwork and a hard credit inquiry. So, I'll probably wait until a 6S Plus 64GB becomes available at a local Best Buy or AT&T store. Since I'm also not a "camp-out" person, they'll almost certainly sell through their initial stock quickly. If this year is anything like last, it'll be about a month and a half before there is sufficient stock at non-Apple retailers at which time I'll buy.

  • Reply 5 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by zroger73 View Post

     

    If this year is anything like last, it'll be about a month and a half before there is sufficient stock at non-Apple retailers at which time I'll buy.


    Trying to think back a year or so - weren't the iPhone 6 Plus devices supply constrained in some way - was it mainly the display? I needed to wait the month and a half you mentioned to snag one, this time I think it may be somewhat smoother

  • Reply 6 of 15
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    My guess is that issue won't exist this year. But then of course the media will spin it as Apple is Doomed™ because you can walk in a store and buy one.

    Fact.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by zroger73 View Post

     

    I've been very pleased with the 6, but now that I've gotten used to its size I think I can handle the 6S Plus now.


    Funny, I've had the 6 Plus for a year and I preordered a 6s. The larger screen of the 6 Plus did nothing for me, except make it more difficult to navigate with 1 hand. I thought Landscape mode would be a big deal, but it wasn't. You can see why iPhones don't have landscape, and probably still shouldn't. 

    I'm looking forward to the size of the 6s. I think its probably the sweet spot for size vs. usability.

  • Reply 7 of 15
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    When the Pope's in town this weekend in Philly, I wonder who/what would draw more lines?
  • Reply 8 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pmz View Post

     

    Funny, I've had the 6 Plus for a year and I preordered a 6s. The larger screen of the 6 Plus did nothing for me, except make it more difficult to navigate with 1 hand. I thought Landscape mode would be a big deal, but it wasn't. You can see why iPhones don't have landscape, and probably still shouldn't. 

    I'm looking forward to the size of the 6s. I think its probably the sweet spot for size vs. usability.


    You bring up a good point about one-handed usability. That was another objection I initially had with the Plus. However, I've gotten used to the fact that I can't use the 6 completely one-handed, either, unlike models up to the 5. The Plus largely appeals to me now for its longer battery life, optical image stabilization, and slightly larger screen. The downside is even less one-handed usability, as you pointed out. The Plus' landscape mode is meaningless to me as well.

  • Reply 9 of 15
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member

    Yeah I certainly wouldn't knock the 6 Plus, its great. As long as you're resigned to its difficulties, you'll be happy with it.

     

    I know the 4.7" lacks much of the one-handed usability too, but I'm hoping to at least hold it with one hand more comfortably, and scroll. The width and height of the 6 Plus makes it very awkward to hold with one hand. You'll see. It feels like most of the phone is not within your hand.

  • Reply 10 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post



    When the Pope's in town this weekend in Philly, I wonder who/what would draw more lines?



    Do think the pope's a "pre-order" kind of guy, or will he be waiting in line too?

  • Reply 11 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by zroger73 View Post

     

    You bring up a good point about one-handed usability. That was another objection I initially had with the Plus. However, I've gotten used to the fact that I can't use the 6 completely one-handed, either, unlike models up to the 5. The Plus largely appeals to me now for its longer battery life, optical image stabilization, and slightly larger screen. The downside is even less one-handed usability, as you pointed out. The Plus' landscape mode is meaningless to me as well.




    Landscape is nice once you try it. It makes for easier reading of webpages, for one thing.

     

    Tapping on the home button twice in portrait brings the windows down half-way, which works pretty well.

     

    I love my 6+, its size, and all of its features. Though I camped out for mine last year and had a good time talking to my nearby "campers" all night the night before, I like my 6+ enough to not have to do that this year. And since we were on AT&T's Next last year, it made more sense to pre-order from AT&T. My estimated receipt date is next month for my 6S+ 128 Space Gray, but I don't mind, as it will come to my door, and I have 10 days to ship this one back.

  • Reply 12 of 15
    pmz wrote: »
    Yeah I certainly wouldn't knock the 6 Plus, its great. As long as you're resigned to its difficulties, you'll be happy with it.

    I know the 4.7" lacks much of the one-handed usability too, but I'm hoping to at least hold it with one hand more comfortably, and scroll. The width and height of the 6 Plus makes it very awkward to hold with one hand. You'll see. It feels like most of the phone is not within your hand.

    For me, while I'd appreciate the battery life of the Plus, I just can't get comfortable holding it. I tried it again Friday and it just is not what I want from my phone. So I'll stick with the regular 4.7" size.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DanielSW View Post

     



    Landscape is nice once you try it. It makes for easier reading of webpages, for one thing.


    Landscape web browsing is not exclusive to the Plus models. All iPhones since the original have done that.

  • Reply 14 of 15

    I had the 6+ for the past year and choosing the 6S+ was a pretty easy decision.  There's no way I can go back to a smaller screen after using this phone.  I finally understand what all the Android guys were talking about.. when they used to tease the iPhone5 and older models.  Also understand that the Plus iPhone isnt just about a big screen.  It also has a battery that is TWICE the size of the one in the standard phone.  It has a higher resolution, OIS camera and support for landscape "iPad-like" apps & keyboard.

     

    To each their own.. but give me the bigger phone anyday.  You will adjust quickly to using the phone with two hands and the pros far outweigh the cons on the Plus models.

  • Reply 15 of 15
    jungmark wrote: »
    When the Pope's in town this weekend in Philly, I wonder who/what would draw more lines?

    The iPhone is actually useful.
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