First iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, Apple TV 4K pre-orders arrive, now on sale at international Apple stores

Apple's recently released iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K devices arrived in the hands of early pre-order customers living in Australia, New Zealand and Asia on Friday, local time, while Apple retail stores in those regions began sales of the new hardware.

As has become tradition over the past few years, eager customers are posting photos of their recent high-tech acquisitions to social media outlets like Instagram and Twitter.

It is already Friday morning in major metropolitan areas in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, meaning Apple has started doling out its latest and greatest devices to early adopters. Others, who pre-ordered through Apple's online store, are likewise receiving shipments and posting pictures to the web.

The sales process appears to be running much more smoothly than past iPhone releases. Of note, Apple stores in Australia are not seeing extremely long queues lining up outside, as they did with last year's iPhone 7 launch. One reason could be the upcoming launch of iPhone X, Apple's flagship handset set to debut in November.

In the U.S., however, lines have already formed outside flagship locations in New York, California and other densely populated areas.

Apple is launching iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in 29 regions, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, the U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS + Cellular is launching in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S., with more countries due to support the device next year. A GPS-only version is also available with wider availability in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, the U.S. and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Apple announced the iPhone 8 series, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K at a special media event at its new Apple Park campus last week.

Each of the new devices provide incremental upgrades over their predecessors, including updated internal components like faster processors and advanced user features. Apple Watch Series 3, for example, incorporates an LTE radio for connecting to data networks, a first for Apple's wearable lineup.

AppleInsider was at the event and was able to spend some hands-on time with the revamped hardware. For more, check out our first looks at iPhone 8 and Apple Watch Series 3.