Apple iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, Apple TV 4K preorders go live [u]

Posted:
in General Discussion edited September 2017
Right on schedule, Apple's iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K all went up for preorder on Friday at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, through the company's dedicated Apple Store app for iOS and online storefront.




In the U.S., preorders first went live on the dedicated Apple Store app, with Apple.com following suit after an approximate five minute delay. The short downtime is much improved compared to past iPhone launches, when customers were in some cases forced to wait hours to place their order.

Both iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are offered in three colors -- silver, space gray, and a new shade of gold. Prices start at $699 for the 64GB 4.7-inch iPhone 8, while the 64GB 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus is pegged at $799. Higher capacity 256GB iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models run $849 and $949, respectively.




Apple is launching the new handsets in 29 regions including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, the U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The first wave of preorders is set to arrive on Sept. 22, the same day Apple is expected to have stock on hand at its retail outlets in the above launch countries.

The smartphones are set to arrive in another 29 countries -- Andorra, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Slovenia -- on Friday, Sept. 29.

Though U.S. carriers are offering only moderate discounts on iPhone 8 hardware this year, prospective buyers can still offset Apple's slightly increased pricing by trading in their old iPhone.

Apple unveiled iPhone 8 at a special event on Tuesday. The phone's aesthetics remain largely unchanged from last year's iPhone 7, which itself was very similar to iPhone 6 and 6s, though the new handset features a glass back to enable wireless Qi charging. Inside, iPhone 8 is powered by the new six-core A11 Bionic chip, True Tone display, enhanced cameras, better speakers and more.




Alongside iPhone 8, preorders for Apple Watch Series 3 went live. Series 3 with GPS + Cellular devices are launching in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S., with more countries due to support the device next year. A GPS-only version is also available with wider availability in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, the U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Looking ahead, Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS) will launch in the UAE on Saturday, Sept. 23, while Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Guam, Hungary, Iceland, India, Jersey, Macau, Monaco, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Thailand and Turkey get access to the device on Friday, Sept. 29. Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are to follow on Sept. 30.

The Nike+ version of Apple Watch Series 3 is also available to order, but ships out a bit later on Oct. 5 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, the UK and the U.S.

This year's Apple Watch Hermes features two new leather band styles and is available to order today, with shipments set to arrive in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S. on Sept. 22.

Apple Watch Series 3 starts at $329 for GPS-only 38mm aluminum versions, while GPS + Cellular models of the same size start at $399. Apple Watch Nike+ models start at $329, Apple Watch Hermes at $1,149 and Apple Watch Edition at $1,249.

The standout feature for Watch this year is LTE and UMTS connectivity, which will allow users to stream music, conduct voice calls, send and receive messages, operate data-reliant apps and more without being tethered to an iPhone. Along with a faster dual-core processor that powers special features like Siri voice feedback, Series 3 boasts new watch faces and runs the latest watchOS 4.




Finally, Apple TV 4K preorders went live on Friday ahead of a Sept. 22 launch. The new set-top streamer sports an A10X Fusion processor capable of 4K resolutions and HDR color reproduction, both firsts for Apple's box.

To go along with new hardware capabilities, Apple struck deals with major Hollywood studios -- save for Disney -- to offer 4K HDR movies at the same cost as 1080p HD versions. Customers who have purchased HD movies on the iTunes Store will be treated to free 4K HDR upgrades, which should show up in user libraries automatically once the device arrives next week.

Apple TV 4K is priced at $179 for 32 GB of storage or $199 for 64 GB.

Make sure to check out AppleInsider's hands-on look at Apple's new iPhone 8 series and Apple Watch Series 3 for more information.

Update: Certain Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) models sold out just minutes after preorders went live. For example, Stainless Steel models with white sport band and Space Gray versions with Apple's new Sport Loop are showing ship times of two to three weeks. Apple authorized reseller B&H is also accepting Series 3 Watch preorders with no sales tax collected outside NY and NJ. At press time, the retailer shows an expected availability date of Sept. 22.

Apple's iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are also seeing launch day stockouts. As of 2 a.m. Pacific, AT&T shipments of 64GB iPhone 8 Plus units in gold have slipped to Sept. 25 to Oct. 2. On T-Mobile, 64GB iPhone 8 models in black and 256GB units in silver are showing ship times pushed out 3 to 4 weeks, while all iPhone 8 Plus models save for the 256GB silver version are seeing delays.
peterhart
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 43
    Got in the Apple Store on the iPad app a couple of minutes after midnight. Ordered an Apple Watch 38mm (small wrists) Black LTE with AppleCare (broke my AppleWatch 2). Not excited by iPhone 8, still undecided about iPhone X. Done with my order by 12:05, pickup at 8:00 am next Friday in Santa Monica. 
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 2 of 43
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,038member
    elehcdn said:
    Got in the Apple Store on the iPad app a couple of minutes after midnight. Ordered an Apple Watch 38mm (small wrists) Black LTE with AppleCare (broke my AppleWatch 2). Not excited by iPhone 8, still undecided about iPhone X. Done with my order by 12:05, pickup at 8:00 am next Friday in Santa Monica. 
    1) 32GB Apple TV and 42mm aluminum Watch+Cellular with woven sport loop. I did make my order 25 minutes after the hour so I'm getting a "ships :2 -3 weeks" and "Delivers: Oct 6 - Oct 13." Maybe I'll get lucky for an in-store purchase next week so I can cancel the Watch before it's up for shipping.

    2) I bought AC+ for my Series 0 and the Series 3, but have had no issues whatsoever in 2.5 years.

    3) I'm curious about the sport loop. I wonder if it will stay put while swimming or if I should just swap back to the rubbed for that, which I'll have to dig up since I've been using a woven strap since they came out last year.
    peterhart
  • Reply 3 of 43
    Ordered my iPhone 8 Plus in gold and Apple Watch Series 3 in gold - with a catch, lol: I wanted the Sport Loop version first and when I clicked thru, it was unavailable for pick up at my local Apple Store here in Colorado Springs. I bought it anyway since it was still within the first wave of shipping on the 22nd. Then I went back and checked the Series 3 in gold with the normal Pink Sand Sport Band...and that one WAS available for pick up alongside my iPhone, so I bought that one, too. That said, the Series 3 in gold with the Sport Loop is now 2-3 weeks out. Perhaps thinking of hanging onto it and seeing how orders continue and reselling it on. Always an adrenaline rush doing this on preorder night!
    cali
  • Reply 4 of 43
    Was gonna get the Series 3 watch with LTE but Verizon wanted me to switch away from my current plan. No thanks.
  • Reply 5 of 43
    256G silver what is not to love?
  • Reply 6 of 43
    Signed-in to T-Mobile to order up... three minutes early. And it took it!
    That's not cheating, is it? ;)

    Now I just have to stop by and get a 29W USB-C Charger and Lightning cord while waiting for the week to pass by, so it will charge up faster!
    edited September 2017 peterhart
  • Reply 7 of 43
    Was gonna get the Series 3 watch with LTE but Verizon wanted me to switch away from my current plan. No thanks.
    I don't understand this. Upon selecting and ordering the Watch, I didn't need choose a provider.
  • Reply 8 of 43
    Update from the UK:  

    EE network - bizarrely, preordering has not been made available to annual upgrade programme customers at all.  I went to the EE store at 9:25am and I was told noone had asked about the iPhone 8 yet.  In general, contract pricing seems to be rather reasonable, even for the X.

    Pre-orders on the UK online Apple store: stock seems to be fine, still getting pick up dates of Sep 22 3-4 hours after pre-ordering started.
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 9 of 43
    peterhart said:
    Was gonna get the Series 3 watch with LTE but Verizon wanted me to switch away from my current plan. No thanks.
    I don't understand this. Upon selecting and ordering the Watch, I didn't need choose a provider.
    are you sure you purchased the LTE version? what was the price? that's a way you could tell

    update: i went through the checkout process to see with an LTE and no where did it ask for carrier information, so maybe its "unlocked" and agnostic 
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 10 of 43
    Just checked at 5:10 pacific time at Verizon ship date for the black 64 gig is 9/22.
  • Reply 11 of 43
    NY1822 said:
    peterhart said:
    Was gonna get the Series 3 watch with LTE but Verizon wanted me to switch away from my current plan. No thanks.
    I don't understand this. Upon selecting and ordering the Watch, I didn't need choose a provider.
    are you sure you purchased the LTE version? what was the price? that's a way you could tell

    update: i went through the checkout process to see with an LTE and no where did it ask for carrier information, so maybe its "unlocked" and agnostic 
    It's unlocked.

    My black stainless steel will take three weeks to ship (I had decided to wait until this morning to order). 
  • Reply 12 of 43
    Interesting to see that there are barely any 3AM posts.

    A signal of the somewhat lower levels of excitement for this upgrade cycle? (This cycle is the first one in a while where I decided to order the next morning instead of at 3AM). 
  • Reply 13 of 43
    It always sucks for T-Mobile customers. Apple always seems to sell out of those handsets first.
  • Reply 14 of 43
    im having a feeling demand for the X will be more than anticipated. Hype for today's pre-ordering is obviously dulled bc of those waiting for the X....Imagine if you cut the demand during the release of the 6 in half....with the other half waiting 45 days more days to pre-order a different phone.
    edited September 2017 mwhitekingofsomewherehot
  • Reply 15 of 43
    I got on Sprint's website to preorder the 8+ for my husband and me at a little after 7:00 AM EST (about 4 hours after preorders started) to upgrade from our 7 Pluses. His upgrade (8 Plus 64GB Space Gray) went through fine (showing shipping of 9/20 - 10/7), but Sprint is showing I have to pay $125 AND send my phone back to upgrade. Maybe that'll change tomorrow, since my 7 Plus came a day after his, but I'm sticking with the idea that it's a sign to hold out for the X... LOL 

    As for new Apple Watches for the both of us, that'll have to be put on hold for now. Sprint isn't doing any financing, and is charging $15 for a data plan that I'll barely use. They'll give a $5 credit if I sign up for Autopay, but I'm not doing that. We'll probably just get the non-LTE versions, because I refuse to pay that much for a data plan for a watch. 
  • Reply 16 of 43
    NY1822 said:
    peterhart said:
    Was gonna get the Series 3 watch with LTE but Verizon wanted me to switch away from my current plan. No thanks.
    I don't understand this. Upon selecting and ordering the Watch, I didn't need choose a provider.
    are you sure you purchased the LTE version? what was the price? that's a way you could tell

    update: i went through the checkout process to see with an LTE and no where did it ask for carrier information, so maybe its "unlocked" and agnostic 
    Yes, I'm not a novice at preorders. I bought two LTE Watches. 

    Additionally, from Apple's website: "How do I set up cellular service on my Apple Watch?"

    'It’s simple. When you pair your Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) with your iPhone, you will be prompted to set up cellular service with your provider. Or you can set up service later using the Watch app on your iPhone.'
    cali
  • Reply 17 of 43
    NY1822 said:
    peterhart said:
    Was gonna get the Series 3 watch with LTE but Verizon wanted me to switch away from my current plan. No thanks.
    I don't understand this. Upon selecting and ordering the Watch, I didn't need choose a provider.
    are you sure you purchased the LTE version? what was the price? that's a way you could tell

    update: i went through the checkout process to see with an LTE and no where did it ask for carrier information, so maybe its "unlocked" and agnostic 
    Chances are good that it when it pairs with your iPhone it sets all that up for you with the eSIM.
  • Reply 18 of 43
    Ordered iPhone 8 Plus, via Apple Upgrade program, at 8:16 AM EST

    Delivery date had already slipped beyond 9/22

    Delivers in 1-2 weeks, Sep 25 - Oct 2 by Next Day Shipping
  • Reply 19 of 43
    Interesting to see that there are barely any 3AM posts.

    A signal of the somewhat lower levels of excitement for this upgrade cycle? (This cycle is the first one in a while where I decided to order the next morning instead of at 3AM). 
    For me it's the X, so last nite's had little meaning, didn't get up or post, etc.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 43

    sog35 said:
    I'm glad all the peasants could purchase their phones this morning while the nobility can purchase in October  :)
    No necessary, not amusing. (As Jobs said, "He has no taste.")
    2old4funmacseekercalimwhitepscooter63watto_cobra
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