The iPhone 7 Plus won't be available in Apple Stores this Friday
You already know that Apple's Jet Black iPhones are completely, utterly, totally sold out, with wait times now extending to November. But things just got even more real.
The iPhone 7 Plus is now sold out worldwide and won't be available to walk-in customers at Apple Stores when it officially launches this Friday. In addition, the Jet Black iPhone 7 won't be available to in-store customers either. That means even if you plan to camp out in front of an Apple Store on launch day, it won't have an iPhone 7 Plus or Jet Black iPhone 7 to sell you.
If you live in the UK, things are even more dire. Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are sold out in the UK -- in ever color and every capacity.
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However, things aren't all bad: The Apple Watch Series 2 will be available for walk-in customers worldwide.
An Apple rep told Mashable, via email, that although the Jet Black version of the iPhone 7 will not be available in Apple Stores for walk-in customers, other colors -- silver, gold, rose gold, and black -- will be available in "limited quantities."
If you haven't pre-ordered on time, the only way to get a Jet Black iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus in any color is at Apple's partner locations (such as carriers' retail stores), where the devices may be available (probably at very limited quantities).
"Beginning Friday, limited quantities of iPhone 7 in silver, gold, rose gold, and black will be available for walk-in customers at Apple retail stores. During the online pre-order period, initial quantities of iPhone 7 Plus in all finishes and iPhone 7 in jet black sold out and will not be available for walk-in customers. Availability at partner locations for all finishes may vary and we recommend checking directly with them," an Apple spokesperson told us.
The Jet Black variant of both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus was sold out within minutes after the pre-orders opened on Sept. 9. Currently, you can still pre-order the Jet Black version of the phone, but you will get a shipping time of either 3-5 weeks (for the iPhone 7) or November (for the iPhone 7 Plus).
Speculating on what this means for the overall sales of the iPhone 7 is tough, as we don't know the initial quantities at Apple's disposal. However, the fact that all variants of the iPhone 7 Plus are completely sold out -- meaning customers won't be able to buy them at launch day in Apple Stores -- probably indicates that the demand is beyond Apple's wildest predictions.
There's no word on when, exactly, we can expect to see the iPhone 7 Plus and the Jet Black iPhone 7 in Apple stores.
"We sincerely appreciate our customers’ patience as we work hard to get the new iPhone into the hands of everyone who wants one as quickly as possible," Apple told Mashable.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
