Apple Store down: Site goes offline ahead of iPhone 14 and Watch release date

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The Apple Store has gone down, ahead of a major iPhone event later in the day.

The online store is taken offline every time Apple makes major updates to its offering, apparently for technical reasons. Despite the store having undergone major updates, Apple appears to need to take the site down for hours to add the new products that are set to be released.

Those products are rumoured to include a new iPhone, new Apple Watches, and new AirPods Pro.

:: Read our live coverage of Apple’s announcement here. ::

Visitors to Apple’s website on Wednesday, before the event, saw an message indicating that they are unable to buy any new products.

“Be right back,” it reads. “We’re making updates to the Apple Store. Check back soon.”

Unusually, Apple also linked out to the event page, encouraging people to watch it live.

The store will probably come back online shortly after the event concludes. It begins at 10am local pacific time – or 6pm in the UK – and tends to last around two hours.