Online Apple Store down ahead of AirTag, purple iPhone 12 preorders

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2021
Apple late Thursday took its online storefront down as it prepares for an expected onslaught of preorders for new hardware, including purple iPhone 12 models and the much-anticipated AirTag.

Apple Store Down


As is tradition, the online Apple Store was pulled from service at around 11 p.m. Pacific, roughly six hours shy of a scheduled purple iPhone 12 and AirTag release.

In line with Apple's typical preorder timeline, the new devices will be made available on Friday at 5 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Eastern. Orders are expected to land in customers' hands, and in brick-and-mortar Apple Stores, on April 30.

Unveiled during Tuesday's "Spring Loaded" event, the purple iPhone 12 variants are identical to iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini models launched last year. The new purple colorway has been described as lavender or light purple, a hue that complements Apple's spring collection of MagSafe accessories.

AirTag was also unwrapped after years of rumors and industry scuttlebutt. The diminutive tracker packs in a speaker, Bluetooth, NFC and U1 chip for broad Find My network discovery and precision finding with compatible iPhones. One of the few Apple products to boast a user-replaceable battery, the accessory is designed to attach to bags, keychains and other commonly lost items, where it can serve as a homing beacon for up to a year.

Apple's purple iPhone 12 starts at $799 with 64GB storage, while a base model iPhone 12 mini with 64GB of storage comes in at $699.

AirTag sells for $29 a pop, or $99 for a pack of four. Apple is marketing a range of AirTag accessories like the Polyurethane Loop, Leather Loop and Leather Key Ring. The AirTag Hermes line includes a Bag Charm, Key Ring, Travel Tag, and Luggage Tag, each of which comes with one custom-engraved AirTag and a hefty price tag. AirTag can also be engraved with emoji and text characters for free.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    mbenz1962mbenz1962 Posts: 171member
    I'm just waiting until 2:00 pm here (Germany) to buy a 4-pack of the AirTags.  One each for my keys and my wife's keys.  My wife is always losing her keys, and then when she can't find them, she takes mine and I have to look for them later.  I'm hoping this will solve a major source of irritation for us.  I'll find a use for the other 2 Tags I'm sure.

    A "mobile/free-floating" one to slip into our coat pockets or bags when we go out might be good.  I wonder if leaving one in the car would help my wife find her parked car whenever malls open back up here (of course by then the AppleCar might already be out).

    I lost my favorite golf hat about two months ago and it took me 6 weeks to find it under the couch... so there is that.
    edited April 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    The AirTags are what I’m most interested into. One to put in a suitcase and one to keep in the car in case I need to find it or it’s stolen. Of course I’d love a new iMac in one of those amazing colors, but that will have to wait. Plus I’ll need to rearrange my home office so the back of the iMac is visible!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 10
    Can one of the new iMacs be “slaved” to another, acting as a display to create a 2 screen setup? I haven’t seen this discussed. 

    If it can, I’ll take 2 please. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 10
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    I don’t know … the purple iPhone opening up for orders on the same exact day that Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis) releases a new album. This all seems just a little too coincidental to me. ;)
    edited April 2021 fred1Japhey
  • Reply 5 of 10
    emoelleremoeller Posts: 574member
    Just ordered a 4-pack (completed order at 05:03 PDT) and it shows delivery of May 10th - 12th.  

    Even though I had preselected my engraving and saved it, when the site went down that info was lost and I had to rekey it when I ordered.

    Guess the early bird didn't catch the worm this morning.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    dewme said:
    I don’t know … the purple iPhone opening up for orders on the same exact day that Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis) releases a new album. This all seems just a little too coincidental to me. ;)
    I had to stop and think on that one, normally green would be the color I'd associate with Dinosaur Jr. but with J specifically purple makes sense. Or makes the most sense until Apple figures out how to do several shades of why?
  • Reply 7 of 10
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    dewme said:
    I don’t know … the purple iPhone opening up for orders on the same exact day that Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis) releases a new album. This all seems just a little too coincidental to me. ;)
    I had to stop and think on that one, normally green would be the color I'd associate with Dinosaur Jr. but with J specifically purple makes sense. Or makes the most sense until Apple figures out how to do several shades of why?

    :) I recall someone asking "Who would want a purple iPhone?" and I immediately thought "J might" - assuming he has something other than a flip phone.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    dewme said:
    dewme said:
    I don’t know … the purple iPhone opening up for orders on the same exact day that Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis) releases a new album. This all seems just a little too coincidental to me. ;)
    I had to stop and think on that one, normally green would be the color I'd associate with Dinosaur Jr. but with J specifically purple makes sense. Or makes the most sense until Apple figures out how to do several shades of why?

    :) I recall someone asking "Who would want a purple iPhone?" and I immediately thought "J might" - assuming he has something other than a flip phone.
    I was going to redo Freak Scene lyrics to J considering buying a phone and in the process of looking them up found out Blink 182 covered the song. Ugh.


     I'm sorry J, this world isn't good enough for you. 
    edited April 2021
  • Reply 9 of 10
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    dewme said:
    dewme said:
    I don’t know … the purple iPhone opening up for orders on the same exact day that Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis) releases a new album. This all seems just a little too coincidental to me. ;)
    I had to stop and think on that one, normally green would be the color I'd associate with Dinosaur Jr. but with J specifically purple makes sense. Or makes the most sense until Apple figures out how to do several shades of why?

    :) I recall someone asking "Who would want a purple iPhone?" and I immediately thought "J might" - assuming he has something other than a flip phone.
    I was going to redo Freak Scene lyrics to J considering buying a phone and in the process of looking them up found out Blink 182 covered the song. Ugh.


     I'm sorry J, this world isn't good enough for you. 

    Talk about freak scenes, the Wall Street Journal (among several others) gave the new album a very positive review. The WSJ??? I personally enjoy it, and I'm totally blown away by how exceedingly well Lou did with his "regulation" 2-song-per-album allotment. He nailed it.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    dewme said:
    dewme said:
    dewme said:
    I don’t know … the purple iPhone opening up for orders on the same exact day that Dinosaur Jr (J Mascis) releases a new album. This all seems just a little too coincidental to me. ;)
    I had to stop and think on that one, normally green would be the color I'd associate with Dinosaur Jr. but with J specifically purple makes sense. Or makes the most sense until Apple figures out how to do several shades of why?

    :) I recall someone asking "Who would want a purple iPhone?" and I immediately thought "J might" - assuming he has something other than a flip phone.
    I was going to redo Freak Scene lyrics to J considering buying a phone and in the process of looking them up found out Blink 182 covered the song. Ugh.


     I'm sorry J, this world isn't good enough for you. 

    Talk about freak scenes, the Wall Street Journal (among several others) gave the new album a very positive review. The WSJ??? I personally enjoy it, and I'm totally blown away by how exceedingly well Lou did with his "regulation" 2-song-per-album allotment. He nailed it.
    I like the new album. Barlow has been really hit and miss over the decades but I think Dino with him is the best Dino. There is something about the push and pull between him and J that bings out the best. 
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