Online Apple Store down ahead of iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus preorders

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2014
Apple's online store was taken down Thursday night as the company braced for what is expected to be a flood of preorders for its recently-announced next-generation handsets, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.




As seen in the screenshot above, the Online Apple Store is now showing a new "We'll be back" notice indicating maintenance sometimes associated with a major product launch. The digital storefront was pulled some three hours before an anticipated midnight start to iPhone 6 preorders.

The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus were revealed at a special media event on on Tuesday. Both models have Retina HD displays, a new design aesthetic closer in form to the iPad mini and more powerful components like an A8 SoC, M8 motion coprocessor and upgraded cameras.

Differentiating the iPhone 6 Plus from the iPhone 6 is a higher-density 401ppi display, optical image stabilization for the rear iSight camera and special landscape viewing modes in iOS 8.

AppleInsider was able to take a hands-on look at the new devices and found the new form factor to be quite comfortable despite its large size.

On-contract pricing for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 starts at $199 for 16GB, then moves to $299 for the 64GB version and maxes out at $399 for 128GB of onboard storage. The iPhone 6 Plus is also available in 16GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities for $299, $399 and $499, respectively. The contract-free T-Mobile version starts at $749 for the iPhone 6 and $849 for the iPhone 6 Plus, moving up in $100 increments depending on storage.

Those looking to trade in their old hardware to offset the cost of a new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus can refer to AppleInsider's Trade-In Price Guide for the latest deals.

Preorder numbers are expected to be high, as it was reported earlier Thursday that Apple is allowing in-store pickup of online orders, cutting down on launch day crowds and streamlining the purchase process. It is unknown how long the in-store pickup option will last, however, as supply is also needed for walk-in customers.

Apple and U.S. partner carriers Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and more, are expected to start taking preorders at 12:01 a.m. Pacific. Launch countries Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and the UK are also expected to field preorder reservations. Alternatively, customers can purchase the iPhone 6 at brick-and-mortar Apple Stores on Sept. 19.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 293

    I’m on my laptop (running a temporary clean user account until I can re-clean install the release of Yosemite), otherwise this post would have an animated gif of something relevant to the tension and excitement of such an occasion.

     

    Still, circumstances force me into purchasing from the second round of stock (or, if I’m lucky, the leftovers of the first).

  • Reply 2 of 293
    I JUST thought of this...and haven't read anything about this potential issue anywhere. Won't you need an Internet connection at the time of the transaction in order to use Apple Pay??? That could be an issue for some business locations right...
  • Reply 3 of 293

    I am wishing you the best of luck sir!

  • Reply 4 of 293
    Originally Posted by MacMarcus View Post

    I JUST thought of this...and haven't read anything about this potential issue anywhere. Won't you need an Internet connection at the time of the transaction in order to use Apple Pay??? That could be an issue for some business locations right...

     

    You’re right. I guess those concrete basement crack dealers will have to stick with good ol’ unmarked, relatively laundered bills.

  • Reply 5 of 293
    The off-contract prices are wrong on this story. They are $649 for 4.7 inch and $749 for the Plus (16gb models).
  • Reply 6 of 293
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hopeless View Post



    The off-contract prices are wrong on this story. They are $649 for 4.7 inch and $749 for the Plus (16gb models).

     

    Here in Canada it's $749 for the 4.7" and $849 for the 5.5". 

  • Reply 7 of 293
    canukstorm wrote: »
    Here in Canada it's $749 for the 4.7" and $849 for the 5.5". 
    Hmmm. I was looking at the Apple Store before it went down and saw $649 and $749. I have T-mobile, so this really matters. This news story also says $649. Does Apple usually charge more in Canada? Currency isn't that different.
  • Reply 8 of 293

    Let's kill time.  4.7" or 5.5"?      5.5" for me.

  • Reply 9 of 293
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thetorrey View Post

     

    Let's kill time.  4.7" or 5.5"?      5.5" for me.


    6+ for me, 6 for my son

  • Reply 10 of 293
    6 64 GB for me, 6 16 GB for my sis, 6 16 GB for my bro.
  • Reply 11 of 293

    1 hr, 8 minutes.  As a consumer, I wish Apple offered 32/64/128, but as a stockholder I'm glad that most will pay the extra $100 to go from 16 to 64

  • Reply 12 of 293
    canukstorm wrote: »
    Here in Canada it's $749 for the 4.7" and $849 for the 5.5". 

    Here in italy (tax included):

    5S-16GB : 629€
    5S-32GB : 679€

    6-16GB : 739€
    6-64GB : 839€
    6-128GB : 949€

    6P-16GB : 839€
    6P-64GB : 949€
    6P-128GB : 1059€
  • Reply 13 of 293
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bradipao View Post





    Here in italy (tax included):



    5S-16GB : 629€

    5S-32GB : 679€



    6-16GB : 739€

    6-64GB : 839€

    6-128GB : 949€



    6P-16GB : 839€

    6P-64GB : 949€

    6P-128GB : 1059€

    I'll be vacationing in your beautiful country in a few weeks - with my new 6+!  :-)

  • Reply 14 of 293
    Pretty classic Apple move with the storage. They're leaving the 32 option as an addition when the 6S comes out next year. They probably already know they won't have anything particularly spectacular to add to the iPhone next year, so making the cheapest model 32 instead of 16 is a way to make it better.
  • Reply 15 of 293

    Do you think the new 99c/month for 20GB iCloud plan would be enough for one to go with 16GB instead of 64GB for photo storage? The storage hog on mine is from iMessage... I can occasionally unload the photos to a computer, but iMessage is always there... taking up 8.3GB at the moment. 

  • Reply 16 of 293
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hopeless View Post





    Hmmm. I was looking at the Apple Store before it went down and saw $649 and $749. I have T-mobile, so this really matters. This news story also says $649. Does Apple usually charge more in Canada? Currency isn't that different.



    I know for the 5s, Apple did charge more in Canada.  If I remember correctly, $50 more.  This year, the increase is higher for the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus.

  • Reply 17 of 293
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sd-diver View Post

     

    1 hr, 8 minutes.  As a consumer, I wish Apple offered 32/64/128, but as a stockholder I'm glad that most will pay the extra $100 to go from 16 to 64




    Apple has always touted itself as being on the side of the consumer.  Having 16GB as the base for the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus is a dick move.

  • Reply 18 of 293
    macmarcus wrote: »
    I JUST thought of this...and haven't read anything about this potential issue anywhere. Won't you need an Internet connection at the time of the transaction in order to use Apple Pay??? That could be an issue for some business locations right...

    No, I don't think you will, or not on the iPhone at least - I seem to remember Tim saying in the keynote that it could be accepted anywhere that currently accepts contactless payments (I gather not a big thing in the US yet, but getting bigger in Europe every day), in which case the internet connection is already in the card reader not the phone. I do bits and pieces of retail support for our customers at work and modern chip and pin / contactless card readers don't work without an internet connection to do payment verification / authorisation.

    I'm guessing the phone generates an encrypted message tied to your device / iTunes account which the card reader sends to apple for authorisation before allowing the payment.
  • Reply 19 of 293

    35 more minutes.  Have the iPad ready for the apple store app, and the laptop ready for the apple store.  Credit card at the ready...

  • Reply 20 of 293
    A 64g 6 for me, and 64 6 for Son
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