Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Apple's online store is temporarily going down on a rolling country-by-country basis as part of its annual Black Friday preparation, not for new product launches. The tech giant routinely takes its store offline for a few hours each year before Black Friday to set up its gift card promotion, offering free gift cards valued between $25 and $200 with eligible purchases from November 28 through December 1, providing one of the rare occasions when Apple directly discounts its products.