iPhone 7 preorders kick off without much of a hitch

From CNET: Apple's phone was supposed to go on sale at 12:01 a.m. PT Friday, with the first buyers slated to get their devices September 16. This year, consumers had to wait an extra 10 minutes before Apple's online store allowed them to begin ordering. Even then, the most popular models were going fast. Just 10 minutes later, the expected shipping time for the jet black iPhone 7 Plus with 256GB of storage was already up to four to six weeks.

Last year, many avenues for preordering, including Apple's online store, were unavailable for some users for nearly an hour after order-taking was set to begin. The year before that, when the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus went on sale, eager shoppers couldn't access the online store for about two hours.

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled its newest phones, the iPhone 7 and its bigger sibling, the 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 starts at $649, and the 7 Plus starts at $769. Apple also announced the second generation of its Apple Watch, which starts at $369, and showed off new $159 wireless headphones called AirPods.

The iPhone is the most popular device Apple has ever made and remains its biggest moneymaker. The phone accounts for more than two-thirds of Apple's annual revenue. In July, the company confirmed it had sold its billionth iPhone since then-CEO Steve Jobs introduced the device in 2007. The iPhone has spawned entire new industries, like app development, and changed the way we live.

But there are signs the iPhone phenomenon is slowing down. In April, Apple reported its first ever drop in phone sales and continued that trend the following quarter. People just aren't as excited about phones anymore, and it's unlikely the iPhone 7 will change that. At the same time, the smartwatch market has been slow to take off, and the Apple Watch, while popular, faces more rival devices.

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