Google Store crashes mar rollout of its new Pixel 6 phone

Google’s Pixel 6 debut, seen as the company’s latest and best attempt to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPhone, was hampered by online outages that kept would-be shoppers from purchasing the device.

Customers attempting to buy the phones Tuesday immediately had difficulties. The company’s website crashed, was sluggish or provided error messages to many consumers. The problems lasted for about five hours before being fixed.

“The Google Store was temporarily down but is now back up. We apologize for the inconvenience,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

It’s unclear if the outages stemmed from stronger-than-anticipated demand or an unforeseen bug. The redesigned phones are due to hit stores on October 28. Customers were still able to order the devices from stores of carrier partners.