In the midst of all the exciting announcements Apple made last month at its iPhone X reveal event, you may have missed one important change that was made to the existing iPhone lineup. On September 12th, Apple removed the 256GB iPhone 7 from its online store, leaving consumers with two iPhone 7 models to choose from: the 32GB model and the 128GB model. If you want more capacity, you’ll have to upgrade to an iPhone 8 or iPhone X.
Mashable noticed the absence of the 256GB iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus this weekend, checking archived versions of the Apple website to confirm that the Cupertino company stopped selling the high-capacity model the day before the iPhone X event. An Apple customer service representative confirmed the change as well.
Although Apple retail executive Angela Ahrendts said in a recent interview that Apple Store employees will not try to upsell consumers on the new phones, the discontinuation of the 256GB iPhone 7 will force individuals who prefer phones with more storage to choose between less storage or a more expensive phone.
On the other hand, when you take into consideration the reportedly middling sales of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus so far, it makes sense that Apple would use every trick in the book to keep selling new phones until the iPhone X launches next month. The iPhone 8 was always going to be the red-headed stepchild of the bunch.
The good news is that the 256GB iPhone 7 hasn’t disappeared completely. Wireless carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile are still selling the phone for $749.99 — $100 cheaper than the 256GB iPhone 8. But once they run out of stock, the only place you’ll be able to find one is on the second-hand market, so act fast if you want one.
