AppleInsider Staff
Nearly one month after Apple first debuted the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in nine countries, the next-generation handsets finally went on sale to an eager Chinese customer base on Friday.
Looking at past iOS device launches in the country, this year's Chinese iPhone debut was comparatively mellow, with moderately short lines seen at flagship Apple Stores, reports The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, around 100 people lined up Friday morning before the Sanlitun Apple Store in Beijing opened at 8 a.m., with the first customers in being those who had pre-ordered the new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus through Apple's online storefront. The queue was in fact composed entirely of pre-order customers, the report says, with only a few others waiting to get in to make on-the-spot buys.
The orderly rollout was likely thanks to Apple's pre-order system, which assigns customers a designated pickup time on launch day, thereby preventing massive crowds and scalping. Also a factor were a midnight iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launches at third-party resellers, which included outlets serving China's major wireless carriers.
China's calm iPhone 6 debut is in stark contrast to previous launches like the iPhone 4S, when unruly masses awaiting the handset's debut prompted a premature stoppage of sales in 2012. The Sanlitun Apple Store was also the scene of a fight that broke out over Apple's iPad 2 debut in 2011, which resulted in a broken glass door.
Including China, Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in 32 countries by the end of this week, with a total of 115 nations to be included by year's end.
During Apple's iPad event on Thursday, CEO Tim Cook said Chinese preorders set a new record, adding to what he called the "biggest iPhone launch ever." In September, the company announced record first-weekend iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales reached a combined 10 million units.
Stephen Silver
Christine McKee
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
6 Comments
Eager customers in China probably already have their iPhones from the grey market when they were released in HK
[quote name="simtub" url="/t/182865/apples-iphone-6-6-plus-met-with-orderly-launch-day-lines-in-china#post_2621815"]Eager customers in China probably already have their iPhones from the grey market when they were released in HK[/quote] And [I]that[/I] was one hell of a long line. A friend of mine was on holiday and send me a picture of it. Simply huge amount of people. Can't wait for the next earnings report, hope to see a breakdown on iOS devices, but shouldn't hold my breath.
Store is down for Accessories. What are the chances of a new iPhone Dock?
Store is down for Accessories. What are the chances of a new iPhone Dock?
Zero, zip, nada. Tim told me himself.
Another reason for the quiet could be that many of those 'unruly' Chinese individuals are down in Hong Kong getting paid to protest against Hong Kong residents who want something as crazy as to freely elect their own government representatives...