The Apple Store crashed this afternoon as savvy shoppers raced 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 crashed, likely as it was inundated with orders.
A message on the website reads: ‘Almost there. Just a few finishing touches and the Apple Store will be ready. See you soon.’
The Apple Store has crashed this afternoon as savvy shoppers raced to pre-order the new iPhone 15
During its annual September product event, Apple gave the world its first look at its new iPhone 15. Vice President of iPhone Product Marketing Kaiann Drance took the stage to show off the new iPhone 15
Angry customers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to vent their frustration.
One user, Matt Wallace, wrote: ‘Apple is the largest company in the world and they can’t even get their website up for the planned iPhone 15 launch time!’
Another shared a screenshot of an error message accompanied with the post: ‘Me: take my money! Apple: No!’
User Kyle Thayer wrote: ‘That iPhone preorder was pretty awful. Apple Store app crashed multiple times, and lost my preorder.
‘Pulled out the laptop and still couldn’t get the job done for like 15 minutes.’
And Symone B. Beez added: ‘Even Apple, a 3 Trillion dollar company is late on their product launch of the iPhone 15.’
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 in the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens that users got from the last generation of iPhones.
But the new handset features a significant redesign to its screen. The ‘notch’ at the top of the phone, long seen as a design flaw, has been replaced by the ‘dynamic island’ used on its current Pro models.
The flagship device also comes in five new colors – fetching pink, yellow, green, blue and black – and has an upgraded camera which should allow for more powerful zoom.
Apple says iPhone 15 will have an ‘all day battery life’ and that the 15 Plus will have an even bigger battery, but it’s not clear how long either will last.
Not happy: Angry customers took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to vent their frustration
Apple also confirmed 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 enable faster charging across all Apple’s products.
The iPhone 15 also has a new artificial intelligence-powered ‘voice isolation’ feature that will make it easier to be heard even if you’re on a busy train or in a public place.
Meanwhile, Apple was keen to brag about how eco-friendly its iPhone 15 is, adding that it features a partly recycled case and fully re-used cobalt.
Apple’s more expensive iPhone 15 Pro has a ton of additional extras for die-hard fans of its products.
The price will start at $999 in the US, with the larger Pro Max costing $1,199.
It comes with a new ‘grad five’ titanium case, which Apple says was the same alloy used on the Mars rover.
That should make the new model more durable and lightweight compared to previous Pros.
Users can add Contact Posters, which allows 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 toggle used to be.
The button can be programed to perform a bunch of features, such as quickly opening the camera.
Apple claims the new A17 Pro chipset is 10 times more performance-heavy than its predecessors and comparable to some PCs.
This should make it even better for playing mobile games at a 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 the larger iPhone 15 Plus, which starts at $899, feature a 48-megapixel main camera, capable of twice the telephoto option for capturing photos and 4K video, and the new A16 bionic chips.
The iPhone 15 Plus has a 6.7-inch display but the same features as the flagship model, which has a 6.1-inch screen.
Both smartphones feature new capabilities that let users take portraits without switching to Portrait mode.
THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF APPLE
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1 1976 as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation’s new Macintosh February 6, 1984 in California.
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
The then Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Steve Jobs, with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled 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, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks at an Apple event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its bricks and mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April CEO Tim Cook declared Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash 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 is powered by voice commands.