Shipments of Apple's new flagship smartphones, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, may be delayed for some customers in the New York and Philadelphia areas. The expected delays are due to a halt in deliveries in certain areas due to the pope's visit.
Apple just launched its latest iPhones, the 6s and 6s Plus, and received enough preorders that it expects to break sales records upon their release on Sept. 25. Many models, colors and storage configurations are already on a three to four week backorder, with all iPhone 6 Plus models unavailable via preorder on release.
Those customers who ordered early enough to grab the new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus are anxiously awaiting release day. However, a new snag could prevent some of them from receiving their phones on time.
The papal visit is throwing a wrench in UPS deliveries in some areas of both New York and Philadelphia, where the pope is expected to pass through. This has caused UPS to issue a halt in pickups and deliveries in those regions from Thursday, Sept. 24 through Saturday, Sept. 26. Release date for the iPhones is Sept. 25, meaning customers whose phones are shipped via UPS may not receive them until Monday.
The regions in New York expected to be affected by the halt include parts of Chelsea, East Harlem, Midtown, Tribeca and the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. Philadelphia areas included are parts of Bella Vista, Callowhill, Center City, Devil's Pocket, Fairmount, Grays Ferry, Logan Square, Mantua, Northern Liberties, Passyunk Square, Pennsport, Point Breeze, Poplar, Powelton Village, Rittenhouse Square, Society Hill, Southwark, Spring Garden, Spruce Hill, University City, Washington Square West, West Philadelphia and West Powelton.
Note that not all iPhones are shipped via UPS in those areas. Apple uses FedEx as well, and thus far, FedEx has not issued a shipping halt, so customers who ordered iPhones that are being shipped via FedEx should not be affected and should receive their phones on the release date.
