Comcast to Open Xfinity Stores Early for iPhone 8 Launch

Taking advantage of a sales opportunity, Comcast said it is opening all of its Xfinity Stores a bit early – at 8 a.m. – on September 22 to herald the launch of the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

Depending on the location, Xfinity Stores regularly open at times such as 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m.

Comcast said high-speed Internet customers who activate a new Xfinity Mobile line in those stores can get one of the new smartphones, and trade in their qualifying devices and receive a check for the value of that trade-in within 30 days.

Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on September 13 at an event held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. The new smartphones feature a new glass and aluminum design, dual 12 megapixel cameras, Retina HD displays and Apple’s A11 Bionic chip, powered by a six-core CPU. The new models are also optimized for Augmented Reality applications and support wireless charging based on the Qi standard. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus start at $699 and $799, respectively.  Pre-orders on those models started September 15.

Comcast has not announced its plans for the pricier iPhone X, which will be available on pre-order starting October 27, and hit stores on Friday, Nov. 3.

Xfinity Mobile, a service that leans on Comcast’s MVNO deal with Verizon and can be tied into Comcast’s WiFi network of 18 million hotspots, supports two data options – “By the Gig” for $12 per gigabyte shared data across all lines on their account per month, or Unlimited for $45 per month, per line.