Apple's online store briefly went offline as excitement around the newly launched iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max reached a peak, ahead of the opening of pre-orders.
The temporary shutdown of Apple's website is a familiar occurrence around major product launches, with the company typically taking its online store offline while updating product pages, pricing and ordering systems. Apple had similarly taken down its online store ahead of the iPhone 18 Pro launch event earlier this week.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max were unveiled during Apple's September event and subsequently opened for pre-orders. In India, pre-orders began on September 12, with the devices scheduled to go on sale from September 18.
Ahead of the pre-order window, Apple allowed customers to select their preferred model, colour, storage capacity, trade-in option and payment method in advance. The iPhone 18 Pro is available in storage options ranging from 256GB to 2TB, while customers can choose from colours including Burgundy, Glacier, Silver and Black.
The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 in the US, while the Pro Max starts at $1,299. In India, the starting prices are Rs 1,64,900 for the iPhone 18 Pro and Rs 1,79,900 for the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
The website outage is therefore understood to be related to Apple's preparations for its latest iPhone rollout rather than a wider technical failure. The company routinely takes its online store offline around major launches and brings it back once the necessary updates have been completed.
