Apple’s iPhone Pre-Order “War Room” Ensures iPhone Delivery

Today is one of the most special days of the year: the release date for a new iPhone. While it might be relatively easy to hand over your cash and pick up the new iPhone 8 (or iPhone 8 Plus), one can only imagine the complicated processes Apple goes through getting that phone from the production line into your hand.

Luckily, BuzzFeed has made a nifty little video detailing Apple’s “War Room,” where Apple “flipped on the switch” at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time last Friday the day pre-orders began for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

For over three hours, Apple engineers worked tirelessly in front of their computers and massive TVs combined to form a larger display. This display, one can only assume, shows the system status of pre-orders in the various countries around the world the phone is being launched in.

“Over half of the orders that night will come in through the Apple Store app,” said Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts. “We turn the whole world on at once. I think you saw the map with everything lighting up all over the world.”

BuzzFeed then visited UPS’s Worldport shipping facility in Louisville, Kentucky, a major hub for Apple products. According to the video, the volume of Apple products is so massive that UPS has to set aside a specific time just to sort iPhone deliveries.

After sorting, the shipping company then delivers a portion of these iPhone orders to Apple’s retail stores, while the other portion arrive directly to customers’ doorsteps.

This year’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus launch has seemed somewhat “muted,” as lines at retail stores are not as large as they generally are on a day like today. Many equate this to Apple consumers waiting for the next big thing, the iPhone X.

Check out the video of Apple’s “war room” in action below.

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