Tim Cook and Greg Joswiak open Fifth Avenue store for iPhone 15 launch

Apple executives Tim Cook and Greg Joswiak welcomed the first iPhone 15 buyers at New York's Fifth Avenue store.

Crowds have been gathering at Apple Stores across the world as they began selling the iPhone 15 range, plus the Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Some at New York's flagship Fifth Avenue store reportedly began queuing at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.

As seen by CNBC, They were rewarded at 10:00 a.m. by Apple CEO Tim Cook opening the doors together with senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak. Their appearance was not promoted in advance, but Cook as appeared before, both at the iPhone 14 launch in 2022, and the iPhone 11 in 2019.

Tim Cook poses with an early customer (Source: CNBC)

As the two appeared, walking up from the basement level of the store, there was applause from the crowd. Joswiak was the more energetic cheerleader of the crowd's reaction, while Cook began with his familiar gesture of pressing his hands together as if in prayer.

Cook slowed up the queue by stopping for so many photos (Source: CNBC)

Following a brief moment when Joswiak's side of the Fifth Avenue entrance opened but Cook's was still locked, the pair stepped out to greet customers.

The line waiting to get in immediately went for Tim Cook, who actually slowed down the queue by stopping to talk and have his photo taken with customers.

Tim Cook returns to NYC for the iPhone 15 launch crowds

While Cook and Joswiak were in New York, head of retail Deirdre O'Brien was at the Apple Sydney store in Australia for one of the first Apple Stores to begin selling the new iPhone.