Apple Store Down Ahead of iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 Pre-Orders

Friday October 17, 2014 5:13 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple has taken its online store down to prepare for the launch of iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 pre-orders. When Apple announced the two new tablets, it said pre-orders would be available starting on October 17, although the company did not specify when exactly pre-orders would start.

Given the short amount of time between the announcement of the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 and the start of pre-orders, it is unclear whether other retailers and carriers will be prepared to offer iPad pre-orders.

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Apple's iPad Air 2, which includes several upgrades like Touch ID, an A8X chip, an improved camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and an anti-reflective screen, is available in 16, 64, and 128GB capacities. Pricing in the United States starts at $499 for the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only model and goes as high as $849 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB model.

The iPad mini 3, which has been updated with Touch ID and a new gold color option, is also available in 16, 64, and 128GB configurations. Pricing for the iPad mini 3 begins at $399 for the Wi-Fi only 16GB model and goes as high as $729 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB model.

Apple has not announced when the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 will be in stores or when the two tablets will begin shipping out to customers, giving only an availability date of "later next week."

Related Roundups: iPad mini 5, iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad Mini (Neutral), iPad (Buy Now)
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ghsNick
69 months ago
The iPad Air 2 is the only reasonable upgrade. I can't believe what they did to the Mini 3.

With 5 options Apple's iPad lineup is a mess.
Rating: 30 Votes
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Rogifan
69 months ago

It seems fairly obvious -- why emphasize a spec that, by design, they intend to upgrade very slowly to preserve margins, and is also poorly understood by non-tech savvy consumers, the bulk of Apple's market.


It's obvious they don't want to talk about it (Ars Technica asked yesterday but Apple refused to say). Yet there's plenty they talk about that non-tech savvy consumers wouldn't understand. Apple should be able to own the decisions they make. If they feel 1GB RAM is sufficient in the iPad then own it, don't hide it.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Nozuka
69 months ago
with ipads you can usually just walk into a store and get one on launch day..
Rating: 7 Votes
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Royksöpp
69 months ago

I think they need to cull a couple from their lineup and keep things simple. Although cheaper iPads do get people into the ecosystem, it just seems complex, especially for people who aren't a member of a forum like this and know tech. Apple prided themselves on simplicity.


Steve Jobs would have bitch slapped the person who came up with the idea of selling 5 iPads simultaneously.
Rating: 6 Votes
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mlody
69 months ago
When I see those messages "apple store down" I think, what a bunch of amateurs. Who does this stuff like this in this time and age? Don't they have development and stage environments where they can update the sites internally ahead of time and test everything and just make the new stuff available in the flip of the switch?
I do not think of any e-comerce website that shuts down its operations for several hours just to put 2 new products online? Doesn't that hurt the revenue? Imagine if Amazon was down for half a day so they could add few new products? It seems like Apple still in 90's when it comes to this process - unbelievable.
Rating: 6 Votes
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ArtOfWarfare
69 months ago
Was just going to report this.

About freaking time - I've been refreshing and trying to buy it for the past 2 hours now. I don't want to be one of the people who gets an estimated delivery time of December - my fiancee's birthday is in late November and this is what I plan to get her (she's been asking for one for the past 2 years. I just got a pay raise this year, so now is the time.)
Rating: 6 Votes
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atrevers
69 months ago

The $249 mini would make an excellent Kindle though.


The $79 Kindle makes an excellent Kindle :p
Rating: 4 Votes
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RightMACatU
69 months ago

So the iPad mini 3 still has an A7 chip?


I call it the iPod treatment.
iPad Air2 just smoked the Mini3
Rating: 4 Votes
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Razeus
69 months ago
Why on earth would you order a Mini 3? That's a blatant rip off.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Chupa Chupa
69 months ago

May I be the first to welcome you to American culture. I'm going to assume that you are either very young or so stuck in the tech community that you are unfamiliar with outside culture. "Busch League is a well known phrase referencing the old minor league of NASCAR racing sponsored by Busch beer.


Thanks. I am American, and did grow up in the south (see old Braves mascot to left), but not really redneck territory. In the literate world the term is correctly spelled "bush league," and has minor league baseball roots. Obviously NASCAR folks stole the phrase and made a pun out of it, but to my knowledge the baseball use of the phrase predates automobiles.

So, may I be the first to welcome you to the educated world. ;)

You're not aware of the American vernacular, "Bush League?"

Pretty sure it is a reference to the lower minor leagues of professional baseball, but what would I know, only having grown up in a bush league town of Fargo, ND. Has NOTHING to do with any corporation, and definitely not Anheuser-Busch.


Yes, I am (see above). It's why I made the post because OP spelled Busch as in Busch beer, not "bush league." I wasn't sure if he was being cute or something with the misspelling.
Rating: 3 Votes

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