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Apple is giving away gift cards because it ran out of iPhones

Published Sep 15th, 2016 5:10PM EDT
iPhone 7 Plus Preorders
Image: Apple Inc.

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Apple isn’t releasing presale statistics for the iPhone 7, but we’re still getting hints that lots of people are rushing out to give Apple their money, headphone jack or not. According to Mashable, Apple is so out of iPhone that it won’t have any for people who line up for launch tomorrow.

Of course, the iPhone launch day line is tradition by this point, so Apple doesn’t want to disappoint all its fans. To that end, staff at the flagship New York City store are reportedly handing out $100 gift cards to fans who are already waiting, as an apology for the lack of phones.

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The iPhone 7 Plus is completely sold out from pre-orders in any color, and the Jet Black iPhone 7 is also sold out. For the early birds who have been waiting in line for weeks, it’s not good news. Mashable spoke to a number of people who have been waiting in line for over a week, and only just found out they won’t be able to buy the phone they want. “They gave us a $100 gift card to make it up, but that still doesn’t make anything up,” one woman told Mashable.

This is a handy reminder to people that online pre-orders are a thing, and even if you want to be at the store in person, you can just pre-order online and pick up in person. At some stores, the online pickups even start before regular store opening hours.

Chris Mills
Chris Mills News Editor

Chris Mills has been a news editor and writer for over 15 years, starting at Future Publishing, Gawker Media, and then BGR. He studied at McGill University in Quebec, Canada.