Because of time zone differences, Apple customers in New Zealand and Australia are always the first to get their hands on new devices on launch day, and this year is no exception.
It's just after 9:00 a.m. in New Zealand, and customers who pre-ordered an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, or Apple TV 4K are beginning to receive their shipments and have started sharing the first photos of the new devices on Twitter, Instagram, and the MacRumors forums.
As September 22 hits around the world, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available in 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 US and US Virgin Islands.
While New Zealand customers were able to order the Apple Watch Series 3, there were no LTE models available for purchase in the country, so the first LTE devices won't be unboxed until deliveries begin in Australia. Along with Australia, the LTE Apple Watch models can be purchased in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
A long list of other countries were able to pre-order non-LTE Apple Watch Series 3 models, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the US, while Apple Watch Nike+ pre-orders are being accepted in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, the UK and the US.
Retail stores in most countries will be opening at 8:00 a.m. local time letting customers pick up reserved devices and make purchases via walk-in. Because supplies of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have been plentiful, it should be no problem for most customers to walk into a retail store to purchase a new iPhone.
Non-LTE Apple Watch models are also readily available, but it could be harder to get an LTE Apple Watch Series 3 as those are sold out online and list shipment estimates ranging into several weeks.
In the United States, the first iPhone 8, 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K deliveries will begin at approximately 8:00 a.m. local time, with the first deliveries occuring on the east coast.
Top Rated Comments
* Faster SoC and Motion Processor (A11/M11)
* Marginally larger dimensions and weight (uses same cases)
* Bluetooth 5.0 vs. 4.2 (4x range, 2x transfer speed, supports 2 devices simultaneously, better audio)
* Video playback in 24 fps and 60 fps for 4K video, in addition to 30 fps
* Video playback slow motion 1080 @ 240 fps
* Video playback in DolbyVision and HDR10
* CPU 6 core (2 hi-perf) vs. 2+2; _____ GHz vs. 2.34 GHz
* Custom GPU 25% - 30% faster
* Wireless charging - superset of Qi standard
* New gyroscope and accelerator (AR)
* Advanced LTE cellular, band 66 "gigabit LTE"
* New camera sensor:
* 83% more light
* better color saturation
* wider dynamic range
* lower noise in pictures
* No shutter lag (due to A11)
* True Tone display (warmth based on ambient light); improvements in color accuracy
* NFC in reader mode vs. NFC for Apple Pay only (reader mode: capable of reading any NFC Forum-mandated tag types)
* Fast charging, 50% charge in 30 minutes (requires suitable power adapter)
* Japan's QZSS and European Union's Galileo GPS constellation systems
* Stronger glass (not GG5 but something stronger per Apple)
* 25% louder speakers, more bass
Not only that but the idea of buying a highly priced, first generation, publicly untested product doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. In a year it'll be the norm, have the kinks worked out, and I imagine a lower cost (just look how the Air and Macbook 12" worked out).
That's the added weight of a completely empty soft drink can! How on earth am I going to be able to lift that... :eek: