Shoppers Racing to Pre-Order iPhone 15 Cause Apple Store to Crash

The Apple Store collapsed this afternoon as savvy shoppers rushed to pre-order the new iPhone 15.

Pre-orders for the new flagship officially opened at 13:00 BST (05:00 PT), after the new smartphone was unveiled earlier this week.

However, by 13:15 BST, the Apple Store had collapsed, probably because it was inundated with orders.

A message on the website reads: ‘We’re almost there. Just a few finishing touches and the Apple Store will be ready. See you soon.’

During its annual September product event, Apple gave the world a first look at its new iPhone 15. iPhone VP of Product Marketing Kaiann Drance took the stage to show off the new iPhone 15.

Angry customers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their frustration.

One user, Matt Wallace, wrote: “Apple is the biggest company in the world and they can’t even have their website up and running by the expected release time of the iPhone 15.”

Another shared a screenshot of an error message accompanied by the post: ‘Me: take my money! Apple: No!’

User Kyle Thayer wrote: ‘That iPhone pre-order was pretty horrible. The Apple Store app crashed several times and I lost my preorder.

“I took out the laptop and still couldn’t do work for about 15 minutes.”

And Symone B. Beez added: “Even Apple, a $3 trillion company, is behind in launching the iPhone 15 product.”

Apple unveiled its long-awaited iPhone 15 at the company’s ‘Wonderlust’ event in California on Tuesday.

The standard range of phones starts at $799 and comes with the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays that users got from the last generation of iPhones.

But the new phone features a significant redesign of its screen. The ‘notch’ at the top of the phone, long seen as a design flaw, has been replaced by the ‘dynamic island’ used in its current Pro models.

The flagship device too comes in five new colors (pink, yellow, green, blue and black) and has a Improved camera that should allow for more powerful zoom.

Apple says the iPhone 15 will have an “all-day battery” and the 15 Plus will have an even larger battery, but it’s unclear how long either will last.

Not happy: Angry customers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their frustration.

Apple also confirmed that the iPhone 15 will come with a USB-C charging port, the same one currently used to charge iPads and Macs.

The AirPods Pro will also move to USB-C, which should allow for faster charging on all Apple products.

The iPhone 15 also has a new AI-powered “voice isolation” feature that will make it easier for you to be heard even if you’re on a crowded train or in a public place.

Meanwhile, Apple wanted to boast about how eco-friendly its iPhone 15 is, adding that it has a partially recycled casing and completely reused cobalt.

Apple’s most expensive iPhone 15 Pro has plenty of added extras for die-hard fans of its products.

Pricing will start at $999 in the US, with the larger Pro Max costing $1,199.

It comes with a new ‘grade five’ titanium case, which Apple said was the same alloy used in the Mars rover.

That should make the new model more durable and lighter compared to the previous Pros.

Users can add contact banners, allowing them to customize how they appear to their contacts. There are also new stickers for Messages

The 15 Pro will also feature a customizable action button on the side of the phone where the mute switch used to be.

The button can be programmed to perform a number of functions, such as quickly opening the camera.

Apple claims that the new A17 Pro chipset has 10 times the performance of its predecessors and is comparable to some PCs.

This should make it even better for playing mobile games in high resolution.

The iPhone 15 Pro comes with a 48MP camera and a more advanced lens and a more advanced lens with 5x optical zoom.

The iPhone 15 and larger iPhone 15 Plus, which starts at $899, feature a 48-megapixel main camera, capable of offering double the telephoto option for capturing 4K photos and videos, and the new A16 bionic chips.

The iPhone 15 Plus has a 6.7-inch screen but the same features as the flagship model, which has a 6.1-inch screen.

Both smartphones feature new capabilities that allow users to take portraits without switching to Portrait mode.

APPLE’S TRILLION DOLLAR RISE

1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976 while selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.

The first product was the Apple I.

1977: Apple launched the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.

Steve Jobs introduces Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh on February 6, 1984 in California.

1981: Jobs became president.

1984: The Macintosh was introduced during a Super Bowl ad break and then officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.

1987: Apple launched Macintosh II, the first color Mac.

1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that sees Jobs return to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took office in 2000.

Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs with the iPhone

2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X, and the first-generation iPod.

The first iPod MP3 music player was launched on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino, and could hold up to 1,000 songs.

2007: Apple introduces the iPhone.

2010: The first iPad was presented.

2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October of pancreatic cancer.

2014: Apple introduced the Apple Watch. It also introduced its first larger iPhones: the 6 and 6 Plus.

2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.

2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, with the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who was killed in a shooting after carrying out a deadly attack in December in San Bernardino, California. , with his wife. The warrant was withdrawn on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.

2017: Apple introduces the iPhone

Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

2018: In a first for the company, Apple is introducing new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was prompted by a strongly worded letter from shareholders urging the company to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among children and teenagers.

2019: In January, Apple reports its first drop in revenue and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed the sharp decline in revenue from China.

2020: In March, Apple closes all of its physical retail stores outside of China in response to the coronavirus.

2021: In a virtual online event in April, CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal to become carbon neutral by Earth Day. The iPhone 13 was announced later in the year.

2022: The iPhone 14 was announced in September. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car accident, as well as an improved camera system.

2023: So far this year, Apple has brought back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home as it works with voice commands.