Stampeding crowd halts iPhone 13 launch in China

Posted:
in iPhone
A stampede of customers invaded a Chinese mall on Friday, looking to buy the iPhone 13, but many were turned away after the store was forced to stop selling the model.

Customers running and queueing in China [via Newsflare/SCMP]
Customers running and queueing in China [via Newsflare/SCMP]


Apple released its iPhone 13 range to the public on Friday, prompting queues outside stores around the world. However, video reveals the popularity of the new generation of smartphones caused issues for one retail outlet.

Posted to Twitter by the South China Morning Post, hundreds of people are shown inside a shopping mall in Chia's Shaanxi province. The mass of people led to a massive queue on escalators up to one phone store in Seg International Shopping Mall when it opened at 10am.

Hundreds of people were seen running into a shopping mall in northwestern China's Shaanxi province to buy the new iPhone. pic.twitter.com/coBPsTrQ1A

-- South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews)


The store was not an official Apple outlet, as it doesn't appear on the company's regional retail list. In the video, signs for other phone manufacturers are visible, further pointing to the outlet being an independent retailer, potentially a smaller Apple-only store alongside other manufacturer-specific sales spaces.

The sheer number of people in attendance forced the store to cease sales on release day itself. Instead, customers were told to arrive on Saturday, giving the retailer more time to prepare.

Queues outside Apple Stores are a typical sight for a new iPhone release, and 2021 was no exception. Throughout launch day, customers lined up in their hundreds to pick up the new devices, though generally in a more orderly fashion than exhibited in the video.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    It makes me wonder how many iPhones per day can be manufactured.  Anybody know what the manufacturing capacity per day is?  Or is that also too secret info Apple will not release?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 9
    May this be fake news? I have a hard time believing that. 
  • Reply 3 of 9
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    M68000 said:
    It makes me wonder how many iPhones per day can be manufactured.  Anybody know what the manufacturing capacity per day is?  Or is that also too secret info Apple will not release?
    If Apple were to release that information all it would do is generate conspiracy theories by the tech blog crowd. Apple used to report unit sales of products while its competitors did not. When Apple decided to stop reporting those numbers the conspiracy theories immediately took hold and Apple was depicted as a failing company. And Apple is obligated to release only that information required by the SEC as a publicly traded company. 
    Beatswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 4 of 9
    sirdir said:
    May this be fake news? I have a hard time believing that. 
    Why?  There a long documented history of people around the world waiting in extraordinarily long lines to get the latest iPhone on release.   I've personally seen very long lines even when they could have ordered it online.  
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 9
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,090member
    sirdir said:
    May this be fake news? I have a hard time believing that. 
    Hard time with what?  This is practically the norm with Apple iPhones on launch.

    The Android crowd would kill to have this kind of loyalty for their garbage products.
    viclauyycBeatswatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 6 of 9
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    Why is there a surging demand for iPhones in China? 
  • Reply 7 of 9
    netrox said:
    Why is there a surging demand for iPhones in China? 
    You mean why is the iPhone popular at a lunch of a new product!
    What should be asked is that for a non-official apple store selling iPhones the price would be 10-25% or higher.
    The reason they closed is to change all the prices to make a killing.

    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 9
    lkrupp said:
    M68000 said:
    It makes me wonder how many iPhones per day can be manufactured.  Anybody know what the manufacturing capacity per day is?  Or is that also too secret info Apple will not release?
    If Apple were to release that information all it would do is generate conspiracy theories by the tech blog crowd. Apple used to report unit sales of products while its competitors did not. When Apple decided to stop reporting those numbers the conspiracy theories immediately took hold and Apple was depicted as a failing company. And Apple is obligated to release only that information required by the SEC as a publicly traded company. 
    It is not that hard to estimate. Foxconn Zhengzhou facility hires close to half million workers. 
  • Reply 9 of 9
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    netrox said:
    Why is there a surging demand for iPhones in China? 
    It’s an iPhone. I’m guessing people are upgrading and stuff.
Sign In or Register to comment.