First iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, Apple TV 4K pre-orders arrive, now on sale at intern...

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2017
Apple's recently released iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K devices arrived in the hands of early pre-order customers living in Australia, New Zealand and Asia on Friday, local time, while Apple retail stores in those regions began sales of the new hardware.


The new iPhone 8 series at Apple Sydney. | Source: William Marchiori via Instagram


As has become tradition over the past few years, eager customers are posting photos of their recent high-tech acquisitions to social media outlets like Instagram and Twitter.

It is already Friday morning in major metropolitan areas in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, meaning Apple has started doling out its latest and greatest devices to early adopters. Others, who pre-ordered through Apple's online store, are likewise receiving shipments and posting pictures to the web.

  • Source: kinnxxi via Instagram
  • Source: mooreshady via Instagram
  • Source: jingwen94 via Instagram


The sales process appears to be running much more smoothly than past iPhone releases. Of note, Apple stores in Australia are not seeing extremely long queues lining up outside, as they did with last year's iPhone 7 launch. One reason could be the upcoming launch of iPhone X, Apple's flagship handset set to debut in November.

In the U.S., however, lines have already formed outside flagship locations in New York, California and other densely populated areas.

Apple is launching iPhone 8 and 8 Plus 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.

Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS + Cellular is 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.

Apple announced the iPhone 8 series, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K at a special media event at its new Apple Park campus last week.

Each of the new devices provide incremental upgrades over their predecessors, including updated internal components like faster processors and advanced user features. Apple Watch Series 3, for example, incorporates an LTE radio for connecting to data networks, a first for Apple's wearable lineup.

AppleInsider was at the event and was able to spend some hands-on time with the revamped hardware. For more, check out our first looks at iPhone 8 and Apple Watch Series 3.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    My order has shipped! Scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I know it may seem silly, but I'm really looking forward to having more than 16GB of storage coming from my iPhone 6s. I'm sure I'll like the other features too, but I'm sick of having storage anxiety. Now I doubt I'll have this for a long time. I don't use a ton of space, but I do use just about 16GB. 
  • Reply 2 of 11
    I guess nobody gives a shit about iPhone 8 anyway
  • Reply 3 of 11
    fallenjt said:
    I guess nobody gives a shit about iPhone 8 anyway
    You're right! I went Plus, baby. Gold 8 Plus all the way!
    edited September 2017 caliScot1
  • Reply 4 of 11
    I was debating between an 8+ or the iPhone X... Now I think I may just get the watch that can act as an iPhone... My 6s really does everything I can ask if it with 64gb of memory.
    cy_starkmanScot1
  • Reply 5 of 11
    scottkrk2 said:
    I went into the Hornsby Apple store (suburban store in Sydney Australia) at 9am, no one was buying the 8/8plus and only a handful of people were looking at them.

    I think this years iPhone product mix will be seen as a rare mis-step by Apple. I am sure Apple would have investigated this option but I would have thought they could have sold more 8/8plus phones if it shared the same design of the X but with a cheaper LED screen that could be produced at scale. So users could have the new design but without the premium volume constrained OLED screen

    This year's real iPhone launch event is on Nov 3.
    I hardly think Australia is a good measure of how the iPhone sales will do this weekend. I think just because it doesn't sell well this weekend doesn't mean its a failure. People are on different plans for upgrading. Meaning, maybe they want to wait for iPhone X, or maybe they want to wait for Christmas to get one (or buy one as a gift), etc. 

    We also don't know how much stock Apple has. They could be much more prepared than previous years. We can't go by what the shipping times are on Apple's website.
    cali
  • Reply 6 of 11
    scottkrk2 said:
    I went into the Hornsby Apple store (suburban store in Sydney Australia) at 9am, no one was buying the 8/8plus and only a handful of people were looking at them.

    I think this years iPhone product mix will be seen as a rare mis-step by Apple. I am sure Apple would have investigated this option but I would have thought they could have sold more 8/8plus phones if it shared the same design of the X but with a cheaper LED screen that could be produced at scale. So users could have the new design but without the premium volume constrained OLED screen

    This year's real iPhone launch event is on Nov 3.
    From my understanding, people who are going to buy 8/8 plus are not the techie nerds like us. Most of them are coming from 'normal' people who want to upgrade from their 5 or 6, who have been waiting at least 2 to 4 years. I don't see this type of person to rush to the store on the first day to get their iPhone. Heck, some of them don't even know today is the first day of availability. A few more weeks or months won't matter for them. That's why you don't see all the rush in the first day. Besides, Apple's guidance for this quarter does not show any indication of slowing sales.

    If you want to see rush, wait until November. That's going to be a real chaos.
    edited September 2017 Soli
  • Reply 7 of 11
    I was debating between an 8+ or the iPhone X... Now I think I may just get the watch that can act as an iPhone... My 6s really does everything I can ask if it with 64gb of memory.
    Did it, got it this morning and setting it up with the Telco right now.

    Already put iPhone away in bag, not even yet on LTE.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    scottkrk2 said:
    I went into the Hornsby Apple store (suburban store in Sydney Australia) at 9am, no one was buying the 8/8plus and only a handful of people were looking at them.


    Ah, where would we be without the single-data point “looked out of my window and it was raining, so it must be raining throughout the solar system” analysis at an Apple launch. 
  • Reply 9 of 11
    Rayz2016 said:
    scottkrk2 said:
    I went into the Hornsby Apple store (suburban store in Sydney Australia) at 9am, no one was buying the 8/8plus and only a handful of people were looking at them.


    Ah, where would we be without the single-data point “looked out of my window and it was raining, so it must be raining throughout the solar system” analysis at an Apple launch. 
    It worked in hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, so must be true then ;-).
  • Reply 10 of 11
    scottkrk2 said:
    I went into the Hornsby Apple store (suburban store in Sydney Australia) at 9am, no one was buying the 8/8plus and only a handful of people were looking at them.

    I think this years iPhone product mix will be seen as a rare mis-step by Apple. I am sure Apple would have investigated this option but I would have thought they could have sold more 8/8plus phones if it shared the same design of the X but with a cheaper LED screen that could be produced at scale. So users could have the new design but without the premium volume constrained OLED screen

    This year's real iPhone launch event is on Nov 3.
    The problem with that is do people really care about OLED over LCD? I have a 7 and have never looked st the screen thinking what an awful screen. If the 8 was a near bezel-free display there would be no reason for the X to exist. I don’t think people would pay $200+ more for an OLED screen. Bottom line is the smartphone is a mature product. And more and more people are buying online. Why go to a store when you can buy online and have it delivered right to your door?
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