Google Store crashes after Pixel 6 series launch

Google Pixel 6 starts at $599 while Pixel 6 Pro starts at $899.

Google Pixel 6 series will go on sale on October 28. (Bloomberg)

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 Oct. 28. Customers were still able to order the devices from stores of carrier partners. 

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., made major design changes to its Pixel lineup with the latest models, adding a custom processor and camera improvements. It's counting on the Pixel 6 and the higher-end Pixel 6 Pro to make it a bigger force in mobile handsets. Though Google's Android software is the biggest smartphone operating system, the company only has a small sliver of the market for the phones themselves.