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iPhone 12: Apple customers struggle to buy new handsets as website struggles with release date

Andrew Griffin
Friday 16 October 2020 14:05 BST
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Apple’s website appears to be struggling to load amid the iPhone 12 release date.

The new handsets have gone on sale across the world at 5am local pacific time, or 1pm in the UK.

But the website seemed to struggle to keep up with demand as users found pages refusing to load or taking much longer than usual to do so.

Tracking website Down Detector saw a spike in problems as the time of release arrived.

Apple rarely discussed either supply or demand of its new products publicly, meaning it will be hard to know for sure whether the iPhone 12 is seeing stronger than usual interest, at least until the company reports its earnings.

As well as being available directly through Apple and its website, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro are being sold through carriers. A full run-down of the various networks’ deals can be found here.

Only the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are now on sale. The larger and smaller sizes – the iPhone 12 Mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max – will not be available to buy until November.

Apple also released the new iPad Air at the same time as its new phones. That tablet shares a range of features with the new handset, including a similar redesign and the same updated chip inside.

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