Apple iPhone 8, 8 Plus up for preorder

PanARMENIAN.Net - 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, September 15 through the company's dedicated Apple Store app for iOS and online storefront, AppleInsider says.

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 September 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, September 29.

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.