Customers storm Apple stores as the iPhone 14 hits shelves

Happy iPhone day! Today, September 16th marks the start of general availability for 3 out of the 4 new iPhone 14 models. The first iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Max units have finally made their way to Apple stores throughout the world. The iPhone 14 Plus, the wildcard of this year’s lineup, is somewhat late to the party and will be available in October.

In typical Apple fashion, the Cupertino company shared photos of the first customers lucky enough to get their hands on the new iPhone 14 in an official Apple Newsroom Post. In addition to the new iPhone, the Apple Watch 8 and the new Apple Watch SE are also available worldwide starting today.

For reference, Apple announced these products at its "Far Out” event last week, on September 7th. Joining the iPhone 14 Plus in its belated entry are the Apple Watch Ultra - Apple’s most expensive wearable yet - and the new Apple AirPods Pro 2. The latter two devices will launch in a week from now - on September 23rd.

While pre-orders of the iPhone 14 lineup opened last Friday, on September 9th, almost nobody (that is, with the exception of some particularly lucky tech reviewers) has had a chance to hold Apple’s newest smartphone and play around with it until now.

Hence, if you are still undecided whether you want to buy the new iPhone, a short trip to your local Apple store can help you make that decision. That is, if you are willing to wait. Just because the iPhone 14 has launched, this hardly means you can simply buy one straight away.

Currently, the only iPhone model expected to arrive on time is the iPhone 14 Plus. The other models are facing delays of days and sometimes weeks. You know what they say - patience is bitter, but its… Apple is sweeter.