iPhone 6 launch day scenes from Apple Stores around the world
The first stage of Apple's worldwide iPhone 6 rollout is nearly complete and launch day seems to have been successful, with huge lines forming at Apple Stores in nine countries from Australia to the United States [updated with video].
Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus first hit store in Australia, where customers queued up in front of Apple Stores across the country hours in advance. AppleInsider reader Katie sent in the panoramic below showing the inside of Apple's Chadstone location shortly after launch.
Click for larger size.
In Hong Kong, thousands lined up outside Apple's three retail stores and numerous official resellers, with at least one retailer in the popular Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district counting a line "tens of hundreds" of people long. Many of those waiting immediately resold their new devices to smugglers --?who will bring them to mainland China, where the handsets' release date remains unknown -- for as much as 500% markup.
Buyers line up outside Apple's flagship IFC store in Hong Kong
"Tens of hundreds" of Apple fans line up outside a reseller in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Buyers jam the second level of Hong Kong's Festival Walk mall
Fans faced equally long lines in the U.K., with thousands lining up outside Apple's Covent Garden store in London.
Back in the U.S., the line outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan stretched around the block. There were similar lines at carrier stores and Apple resellers around the nation.
First iPhone 6 buyer at Apple's Fifth Ave store. Photo by AppleInsider reader Ryan.
First iPhone 6 buyer at Apple's Fifth Ave store. Photo by AppleInsider reader Ryan.
The line outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan
The line outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan
The final tally of Apple Store visitors is unknown at this time, though Apple gave an indication that demand would be high when the company announced a record 4 million units had been preordered during the first day of availability.
Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus first hit store in Australia, where customers queued up in front of Apple Stores across the country hours in advance. AppleInsider reader Katie sent in the panoramic below showing the inside of Apple's Chadstone location shortly after launch.
Click for larger size.
In Hong Kong, thousands lined up outside Apple's three retail stores and numerous official resellers, with at least one retailer in the popular Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district counting a line "tens of hundreds" of people long. Many of those waiting immediately resold their new devices to smugglers --?who will bring them to mainland China, where the handsets' release date remains unknown -- for as much as 500% markup.
Buyers line up outside Apple's flagship IFC store in Hong Kong
"Tens of hundreds" of Apple fans line up outside a reseller in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Buyers jam the second level of Hong Kong's Festival Walk mall
Fans faced equally long lines in the U.K., with thousands lining up outside Apple's Covent Garden store in London.
OMG covent garden! (photo stolen from someone else on Twitter I now can't find and credit). #iphone6. pic.twitter.com/MtPrLJ46e0
-- David James Lennon (@cowboystyle) The #iphone6 queue has been building over night and is now way past the bull! #bullring pic.twitter.com/dscgcaRdRS
-- Bullring Birmingham (@Bullring) Back in the U.S., the line outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan stretched around the block. There were similar lines at carrier stores and Apple resellers around the nation.
First iPhone 6 buyer at Apple's Fifth Ave store. Photo by AppleInsider reader Ryan.
First iPhone 6 buyer at Apple's Fifth Ave store. Photo by AppleInsider reader Ryan.
The line outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan
The line outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan
The line at Quakerbridge Mall for #iphone6 pic.twitter.com/84MpJUCcdk
-- Mathew Passy (@MathewPassy) 85+ lined up outside the Fort Smith @att store! Less than an hour away from #iphone6. #ATTemployee pic.twitter.com/3289uq5AzZ
-- Anita Smith (@ArkansasMobile) The final tally of Apple Store visitors is unknown at this time, though Apple gave an indication that demand would be high when the company announced a record 4 million units had been preordered during the first day of availability.
Comments
/obligatory
Curious, but I wonder how many Sammy phones were found in the area trashcans due to the release.
you may as well take pictures of the line outside a Iggy Azaelea concert... same journalistic value.
Apple store had long lines and the blue shirts at the door would not comment on the inventory but would say things like "the longest line i have ever seen for the ip release!". My local AT&T run out of the ip6+ in the first 30 minutes. A lot of upset people in the queue. Lots of conspiracy theories (often contradictory):
1) "Apple is creating artificial demand for ip6+"
2) "Apple is determined to show they were right for all these years by saying that people want smaller phones". It will appear so when the weekend counts are in.
This is so great to see. Anxiously waiting for mine at home as we speak. I'm also anxiously waiting for the numbers. It's going to be huge even without China.
Doomed.
/obligatory
You are so annoying.
I pass by the Montreal store this morning and it was the biggest line I have ever seen. They ran out of iphone 6+ after the first 100 people, which was about 10% of the line.
There was a second line for people picking up phones order online, it was pretty big too.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-18/hey-android-users-dont-buy-the-new-iphones#r=read
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-19/why-apples-new-phones-wont-change-the-world-but-nokias-will
So Reuters says Apple is losing its cool factor with consumers. And now we have a story from BusinessWeek with a headline that Apple's phones won't change the world but Nokia's will. And just the other day they put up a story telling android users not to buy the new iPhones because it's too difficult to switch ecosystems. I'd love to know who's paying for this FUD.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-18/hey-android-users-dont-buy-the-new-iphones#r=read
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-19/why-apples-new-phones-wont-change-the-world-but-nokias-will
Since most Android users only get free apps and pirated movies and music, switching ecosystem is not difficult for them because they didnt invest a lot it. Its a lot easier to move from google or amazon to Apple because they can still access there purchased on iOS (but not there apps)
On the other hand, itunes purchased are not available on Android or Amazon, so moving from iOS to those OS is more difficult.
Aside from the people who are there to buy phones and re-sell them, I've never understood this desire to have to get the phone on the first day of release and I've certainly never understood the people who wait on a line for days when the phone could have been ordered online. I actually don't get it - if one has a job, how can they wait on line and if they don't have a job, one shouldn't be able to afford the phone (especially if they're buying it off contract and paying full price up front) unless they're independently wealthy, in which case you'd think one would have better things to do with their time.
Personally, about the longest I'd be willing to wait on any line is 15 minutes, which is why in the years when I've bought a new phone, it's been in Nove
I do find it remarkable that the iPhone, with basically incremental improvements, still garners so much excitement with each new model.
As I've posted a zillion times before, it used to take a product over a year to reach 1 million units and Apple now does that in about a day. I think we've become immune to how remarkable that is.
Apple stores in Japan had trouble with Chinese mass-buyers trying to cut in line and also 100 caused damage at the Osaka shop.
Where I live all was peaceful; several shops with display models amazingly had no customers, so I could just walk in and not have to wait to play with the devices.
Saw the phones. Nice hardware. Too bad they run what IMO is a horrible looking OS, so I'm not interested. Millions are buying it, though. Good for them. I'll stick with my iPhone 5 running iOS6.
So Reuters says Apple is losing its cool factor with consumers.
Of course it's lost the "cool factor". No mass market product that sells tens of millions of units can maintain a "cool factor" and no product that's sold in WalMart and other big box stores can maintain a "cool factor". That's reserved for niche products that are hand crafted, custom designed or difficult to obtain because they don't make that many or don't have wide distribution or difficult to obtain because they're very expensive.
IMO, the iPhone lost it's "cool factor" the day that it started to be sold as a subsidized phone. That's when the masses started buying it.
But there's a big difference between "cool factor" and success. Apple has the success.